Where I Stood
by CrimsonShepard
Summary: Gibbs is back. The team has to adjust. Easier said than done for several. Gibbs doesn't know that he'll also have to adjust. Jibbs. AU.
1. Chapter 1

He had been working on his boat for hours losing all track of time like always. Flashbacks of memories had been plaguing him all night. He had not returned to Mexico because of his conversation with her. That night, she had showed concern, respect, and love for him.

"_You don't want me back?"_

"_No, I don't."_

"_Worried you can't handle me, Director?"_

"_No…afraid you won't be able to handle yourself. You've already been in two comas. You might not come out of a third. Fact is, you're good…the best. When you're as good at something, when you can make a difference like you can, you don't just quit."_

Clearly, he had to prove his ex-partner, lover, and boss wrong. Leroy Jethro Gibbs could handle himself and make more of a difference. He would prove it to Jenny Shepard. He took another long drink of bourbon from his coffee mug and sanded more of the boat before calling it a night. There was work to do in the morning.

Since his return to NCIS, the team had been readjusting to the presence of Gibbs. Abby was the happiest to see him, always greeting him with a bear tight attack hug. Tony had to learn he was no longer in charge of the team, a hard spoonful for him to swallow. McGee and Ziva were grateful there wouldn't be any more campfires. Ducky hadn't given him such a warm welcome. His old friend was distant, slightly cold, and formal to him. No recalling of stories from days gone by…only the meat of the findings in autopsy.

Gibbs stepped off the elevator from getting coffee, and he saw Ziva, Tony, and McGee working at their desks. Paperwork had stacked up from the influx of cases from the previous week. There was a slight lull to this week. He felt as if he were being watched. When he looked up to the stairs, he saw Jenny staring down at him with her watchful director eyes. She shifted her weight in her stance and took a sip from her cup before cutting off the gaze, going back into her office. Gibbs silently smirked and sat down at his desk.

After lunch, Ducky stepped off the elevator with Jenny on his arm. The two had gone to lunch to discuss current situations and catch up on the week's events. Jenny was smiling and listening to Ducky as they talked quietly, passing by the squad room. Gibbs was the only one back from lunch although he hadn't left the headquarters. He had ordered take out.

"Yes, my dear…I do believe it agrees with you," Ducky whispered, smiling warmly at his lunch companion.

Jenny returned the smile, nodding her head softly. "Thank you, Ducky." She kissed his cheek, hugging him and walking up the stairs. She would stay buried in paper work if she didn't work on it until her time in MTAC.

Gibbs watched the pair suspiciously as soon as the elevator doors had opened. Now, he watched Jenny. She could feel his eyes burning through her. He focused his attention on Ducky when she didn't respond to his stare. "Hey Duck…"

Dr. Mallard turned on his heels and looked at him. "Yes, Jethro?"

"Is there anything I should know about?"

"What do you mean?" Ducky played dumb.

With his blue eyes, Gibbs motioned in the direction of Jen's office. Ducky nodded his head. "Oh well…you would have to talk to her about that. I cannot divulge anything said or told in confidence especially when it concerns her health."

Gibbs mumbled under his breath, a thousand thoughts going through his mind. He hated Ducky not breaking confidence to him considering it concerned Jen. "Okay, Duck…I wouldn't want you to break confidentiality," he said as he pushed himself up from his chair, throwing away his coffee cup. Ducky patted him on the back, "Jethro…go easy on her. It's been rough since you've been gone." With that, the doctor left the bullpen to go back to his home in autopsy.

Upstairs, Cynthia attempted to stop Agent Gibbs from barging into the Director's office, but it was of no use. He never listened to her pleas not to go into her office without a warning or to see if Director Shepard could even see him.

The door hit the wall with a loud bang, not surprising Jenny at all. She didn't flinch from the noise and continued reading a case file. There was a large stack on the corner of her neat desk. "Just as I was getting used to my door being treated as a door," she said, acknowledging his presence with mild irritation in her voice. However, she still hadn't looked up from the file.

Gibbs shook his head and rolled his eyes at the door, closing it quietly. "Jen, we need to talk."

She closed the case file and finally looked at him, their eyes locking. "Talk, Jethro. I'm listening."

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

"Nothing comes to mind," she said casually.

"You know when you lie…your right eye twitches…always has, Jen." He moved closer to her desk, putting his hands on the desk and lowering himself enough to look her straight in the eyes.

She sighed heavily, cursing silently that he knew her so well. "Jethro, it does not…and I am not in interrogation either." She slightly glared at the position of him on her desk. Who did he think he was?

He smirked and straightened up. "Yes, it does. Your eye is still twitching. What are you hiding from me, Jen?"

She folded her hands in her lap and looked intently at him in silence. She was as cold as ice towards him. "What I keep from you or tell you is my business, Agent Gibbs."

There it was…her use of Agent Gibbs. She had pulled the director act on him. He'd lost the battle before it barely began since she pulled that card on him. He knew there was something behind the director act. She only used that when she didn't want to talk, get under his skin, or if she was mad. He usually didn't experience those reasons separately. He stared at her, still reeling from the ice queen routine.

"What Gibbs doesn't know can't hurt us," he threw her rule back at her and stormed out of her office. She felt sick after he left her office. He couldn't honestly expect to come back in without difficulty after leaving NCIS and _her_.

When he jogged down the stairs, the team was back at their desks. Tony whispered to McGee and Ziva, "I wonder what that was about…Gibbs trying to get back into her good graces after resigning…I wonder if they did more than talk up there. You know, I bet those Paris moments get relived."

Both McGee and Ziva rolled their eyes. Each had their suspicions about Gibbs and the Director's past. Tony had painted a hot, steamy Paris affair between them in his mind. He didn't know his musings were accurate.

"It probably wasn't anything, Tony," McGee replied to his nosy teammate.

"How do you know?

"Know what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs questioned and glared while restraining from giving a head smack.

"If there's been anything interesting that happened while we took lunch, Boss."

"Uh huh, DiNozzo. I'm going for coffee." Gibbs hit DiNozzo on the back of the head before walking to the elevator. In turn, Ziva and McGee laughed. Tony mumbled under his breath while rubbing the back of his head.

When Gibbs returned from the coffee run, he jogged up the stairs to go into MTAC. Tony watched him and looked at his partners. "That's something! He got her coffee!"

Ziva shook her head, "Tony, it is a gesture."

McGee nodded in agreement. "Everyone isn't like you, Tony. Gibbs brings coffee to the Director. He brings Caff-Pow to Abby. No big deal."

Inside MTAC, Jenny sat in one of the chairs on the front row, her usual spot. Gibbs took a seat next to her, putting her cup in the holder. She nodded a thank you and kept her eyes on the screen. She took a sip and put the cup down. It was Jamaican blend. She desperately needed the caffeine but left the coffee alone even if she felt dead on her feet. She had cut caffeine out much to her dismay.

"You should be proud of him," Jen stated before he could start asking questions.

"Who? DiNozzo?"

Jenny nodded her head. "When you left there were some rocky moments, he really held the team together."

"It's what I trained him to do."

She turned and looked at him. "I just think you should know he excelled at it."

Gibbs nodded his head. "Jen, why aren't you drinking the coffee? It's not poisoned."

"I decided to cut back on caffeine this week."

He nodded his head and took a long sip of his coffee. She inhaled the smell of his coffee. He got up and left MTAC. The iciness coming from her was unbearable. She shook her head, watching him leave MTAC.

Director Shepard dismissed Cynthia at 1800 and stayed at NCIS until 1900. She needed to go home early. She was about to fall asleep at her desk. Last time, she had a crick in her neck from falling asleep in her chair. She put on her coat and walked down the stairs instead of taking the elevator. She stopped at the bullpen, saying goodnight to everyone. Gibbs looked at his team and silently adjourned them for the day. He watched her walk to the elevator. Gibbs put his things together and left the office about ten minutes after everyone else. He would pick up her favorite meal and drop by unexpectedly.

When Jenny entered her house, she yawned, took off her heels, and walked into the study. The briefcase was laid on top of her desk. She carried her black heels in her hand as she walked up the stairs to change into something more comfortable. She grabbed a pair of black yoga pants and a gray NCIS sweatshirt. She let out a sigh of relief and went back downstairs to watch television. As tired as she was, she wasn't ready to fall asleep yet.

A half hour later, Gibbs stood on her doorstep. He rang the doorbell and knocked several times before using his spare key. He stepped into the house, looking around.

"Jen?" He called out from the foyer.

No answer. He found her sleeping on the sofa. He smiled softly, kneeling down. She always looked serene when she slept. He shook her shoulder gently, watching her begin to wake up. She must be exhausted if she didn't wake up when he opened the door. She had always been a light sleeper. Slowly, Jen opened her eyes, sitting up and stretching out her body. She groaned softly and looked at him. "How did you get in?"

He held up the spare key. She nodded her head and looked around, getting her bearings back. She had no concept of when she fell asleep or how long she'd been sleeping.

"I got take out for us," he informed, walking into her study, getting the bourbon and two glasses.

Her eyes opened wide. Jethro was in her home. He had used his spare key, and he brought dinner. She darted up from the couch and followed after him into the study. "Why are you here?"

"To have dinner with you."

She folded her arms over her chest and glared at him as he poured himself a glass of bourbon. "I didn't invite you."

"I know you didn't."

Truthfully, she didn't feel like having a round two with him, and she was hungry. She smirked and picked up the bags, taking them into the kitchen. She peeked into the bags once she sat them on the kitchen counter. Of course, he'd gotten her favorite. He was kissing her ass. She joined him in the study, and he handed her a glass of bourbon.

"No thank you, Jethro."

No coffee. Now, no bourbon. Was she dying? She had to be if she wasn't drinking either one. "Jen, what the hell? Something is going on with you."

She walked over to her favorite leather chair in the study and sat down, tucking her legs under her and looking up at him. She wished she had that glass of bourbon in her hand. She needed liquid courage for this conversation.

"Jethro, something happened the night before you went back to Mexico." She stared over at the desk, remembering.

He grinned devilishly, remembering that night in her study. During their meeting in her office, she had brought up Serbia and the farmhouse…a whole week with nothing to do other than make love. He'd left a photograph of her from that assignment with McGee and let DiNozzo, Ziva, and Jen think he was gone, but Jen had a feeling she would see him again…sooner than anyone else. She was right because she found him in her study and helping himself to a bottle of bourbon.

Jen quickly snapped him out of it. "JETHRO! Get your mind out of the bedroom."

He corrected her, "Study."

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'm pregnant, Jethro." The words escaped her lips before she could take them back. Jenny Shepard never thought she'd utter those words to a man. She knew if she ever had to speak them that she wanted to say the words to him however.

There were not many happenings in life that could throw him off balance except for those words coming from Jenny's mouth. He stared at her silently before downing his glass of bourbon. He felt the burn of the alcohol and sat the glass down. He was thinking, taking the news in.

Jenny pushed herself up from the chair. She walked over to him, refilling his glass and rubbing his back. "Jethro…say something, please." Her green eyes begged him to speak.

He finally turned and faced her. "Jen, how long have you known? And don't lie to me…I'll know."

"I've known since August."

"Why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out, Jen?" His voice rose with anger. "Why?" He stared at her, blue eyes deep and concentrated into hers.

She moved away from him, walking to her desk and leaning against the front of it. "You left! Are you forgetting that? I woke up to an empty bed…no note…only emptiness, Jethro." She looked him in the eyes, tears almost present in her own. "You went back to Mexico and your damn retirement! You closed the door on us that time…not me. What did you expect…for me to call you and tell you the joyous news over the phone?" She twisted her ring and looked down at the rug. "Maybe you should go…I'll be fine without you. I can take care of myself."

He picked up his glass of bourbon and drained half, turning and watching her. She wiped a tear from her eye and kept looking at the floor. "Jen, you must have known I'd come back. You didn't file my retirement papers," he reminded her, closing the distance between them. "Look at me," he requested, pushing her chin up to see her face. She turned her face to the side, not wanting him to see her cry. "You're stuck with me now. I won't let you do this alone." He slipped his arms around her, pulling her against him. In turn, she buried herself into his chest. "How far?" He asked of the pregnancy.

"Not quite three months. Before you ask, only you and Ducky know," she answered. That was going to be his next question. She had the habit of being able to read his mind.

He nodded his head, rubbing her back in circles. "Explains the coffee and bourbon."

"Jethro, I hate not drinking coffee or bourbon. You aren't helping either." He looked down to her face, eyebrows raised. "You smell like both." She kissed him softly. There wasn't any more ice queen left in her.

He smirked at her. "What have I missed?"

"Morning sickness, coffee withdrawal, and a doctor's appointment." She noticed the look in his eyes, guilt. "Don't."

He nodded his head, placing his hand on her flat stomach. "Let's eat and get you into bed."

"Jethro," she warned, unsure if there were any ulterior motives to getting her into bed.

"Get you into bed to sleep, Jen."

"Good. I need the sleep." She hadn't been sleeping well since he'd been gone. She had become used to sleeping next to him. Also, she'd been worried about him in Mexico and didn't want him to turn into Mike Franks.

The two left the study and walked into the kitchen to have a late dinner. After dinner, Gibbs made sure the house was locked, security system on, and all the lights off. Jenny waited for him on the stairs, occasionally yawning. They walked hand in hand to her bedroom to sleep in each other's arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the next weeks, Gibbs spent more time with Jenny when she allowed him to be there. He had been there to hold a cold cloth to her forehead after the usual bout with morning sickness around 0600. He was always protective of her, but now the feeling grew stronger. She was four months pregnant with a small bump in her abdomen. Still, she hadn't been ready to let the team know or anyone else. She didn't want the pregnancy to make her seem inferior to her superiors or anyone else in NCIS. She had been awake since 0500, not able to fall back to sleep. A stack of complete case files, requests, and anything else incomplete were in the study. For the last half hour, she'd been in the kitchen making breakfast or that's what she called herself doing.

Gibbs kissing her neck broke her out of her thoughts as she stood in front of the sink. She smiled softly and turned around, facing him. "Morning, Jethro." He kissed her lips. "Coffee's almost ready. Omelettes are done and waiting on the toast," she told him.

He nodded his head. "You didn't come back to bed. What have you been doing for the last hour?"

"Working…what else would I do?" She caught the toast as it popped up from the toaster. They passed by each other without clumsily bumping into each other or stepping on toes. The morning routine was well rehearsed and comfortable. She went to the fridge for butter and jam while he went for the silverware.

"Jen, you need to slow down." He poured himself a cup of coffee and watched as she closed the fridge and made the two plates.

"I will. I can't today."

He rolled his eyes. "I know…Secretary of Defense is retiring, and you have to be there to kiss ass."

"Jethro," she said sharply. They had an argument weeks ago about her going to this event. Ziva and Tony were her protection for the occasion, but Gibbs wanted to be there. Jenny put her foot down, pulled rank, and banned him from being her protection. No suspicions needed to be raised. "Ziva and Tony are just as capable as you. I will be absolutely fine. There isn't anything to worry about."

He went to open his mouth to argue, but the look in her eyes made him close his mouth. The couple sat down and had breakfast together with no more discussion of her schedule for the day. Jenny changed into a gray suit with a softly printed blouse underneath and her most comfortable pair of black heels. She and Gibbs went into work separately.

At the hotel for the retiring Secretary of Defense, Ziva and Tony were standing around, keeping an eye on Director Shepard. She was mingling with the guests, putting on her best face. Ziva glanced at Tony and quickly slapped her partner.

"Ow!"

"We're not here to eat. We're here to protect the Director."

"Ziva, this is probably the most secure building in the whole country right now. CIA, DSS, ATF, F.B.I…the whole alphabet's here. Not to mention State Troopers, Metro Cops and NCIS' finest….me…and you. But "me" is hungry. These are public servants like us. This is free food."

Tony had his mind on food. With the whole alphabet of protection in this building, nothing could possibly happen to the Director of NCIS. He wandered over to a food table when he heard Ziva yell, "Director!" Before he knew it, she dove and tackled one of their fearless leaders out of harm's way. Harm's way was a body falling from several floors up.

Jenny caught her breath and accepted Ziva helping her up from the floor. She, Tony, and Ziva stared at the man's body on the ground. The room was buzzing, and all the appropriate calls were made. Soon, Gibbs, McGee, Ducky, and Palmer would arrive on the scene.

Gibbs and McGee arrived at the hotel. He saw Jen talking to the police. He smiled to himself. She should have stayed in the field. She had been a damn good agent. After all, she learned everything from him. She walked over to her agents with a pad and pen in her hand.

"Good morning, Gibbs. McGee," she said professionally.

"Director Shepard," Gibbs returned the formality and listened to her briefing them on the case.

"Our gatecrasher was a Marine, Sergeant Brian Wright. The hotel was in lockdown, and he wasn't a registered guest. He took a dive from up there somewhere. SecDef staff are worried that it was an attempt on the life of their boss."

"Are we worried?" Gibbs asked.

"If it was an assassination attempt, he's a lousy assassin. He used his body as a weapon and missed by seventy-five feet. Ducky's doing the preliminaries. I've got Tony liaisoning between Metro and hotel management. And we have a witness, Andy Nelson. Ziva's with him. He's an aide to a congressman. Nelson claims he was attacked by the deceased on the sixth floor just before the incident."

"Do you believe him?"

"He works for a politician. What do you think?" she said with sarcasm. "I'm officially handing over. I've got my own fires to put out. This happened in our backyard. It's making a lot of people nervous. I'd appreciate a quick result on this one."

Gibbs nodded and watched her walk away. The first fire Jen had to put out was a doctor's appointment. She wanted to make sure she and the baby were okay after being tackled by Ziva. After making sure the baby was healthy, she would worry about the other fires. The team started investigating the case. Luckily, the exam and ultrasound showed everything to be all right with the baby. The doctor warned her she would be sore for the next few days and sent her home to rest. However, she got back into the car and started making phone calls. A phone call to Jethro informed her there was another body found in one of the hotel rooms, the body of a young Asian girl. Phone calls to the chief were made, and the team investigated the second body, trying to tie the two cases together. Abby would be the link to that.

Gibbs arrived in Abby's lab, hoping to hear good news from his favorite.

"What am I looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing." Abby smiled when he asked.

"Nothing? Nothing's good, right?"

"Oh, yeah. Nothing is very good," McGee piped in.

"If this was Wright's hair, it would be like looking into a window of his drug history. But all this shows is…"

"Unknown trace elements," Gibbs answered, observing what Abby showed him on the computer screen.

"Too minute to be picked up by the mass spec equipment. So it's probably not Wright's."

"Oh, we can't be sure they're not there, unless we get a better microscope," McGee told Gibbs.

"We're talking nano-particles, here, Gibbs. We need a…"

McGee looked at his boss and explained further for Abby. "An infrared microspectroscopy unit. It's the only thing that gets down to the nano level."

"Okay, get one," Gibbs said simply.

"They cost about a hundred grand," McGee informed.

"Yeah, so?"

Jenny had come into the lab and stood near the doorway. She had heard most of the conversation. "So it's not in the budget. Maybe next year," she responded, walking towards McGee, Abby, and Gibbs.

"She needs one now!" Gibbs snapped at her quickly. He would do anything to solve a case and a doohickey or budget shouldn't hold his team back.

"Sorry," Jenny returned the attitude.

Abby hated it when there was conflict between mom and dad. "I could haggle. My Uncle Horace, he was a great haggler. They used to call him Horace-the-Haggler." Jenny stared at Abby, giving her the look. "Or I could borrow one." Now, Jenny shifted her stance and changed her stare, raising her eyebrows and giving Abby more of the look. "I'll try and borrow one," Abby finished. The computer beeped. "It's the fingerprint from the keycard."

"Oh, that's not good. It puts him in the dead girl's room," McGee stated the obvious after seeing the results from the keycard.

"Sorry, Jethro," Jen said softly to Gibbs. She meant it. The fingerprints on the keycard put a hero in the scene of a crime. He would no longer be looked upon as a hero.

"Find out who owns that," Gibbs said to McGee and Abby. He took Jen by the back of her upper arm. "Come on." He led her out of the lab.

"Don't start. Do you know how many people want things from me?"

"Did I say anything?" He still had the attitude from minutes earlier and assumed she was irritable also.

"No, Jethro."

"Are you okay? Ziva told me about this morning."

Jen nodded her head. "Fine…but let's talk about this in the office."

The pair stepped onto the elevator. Gibbs pressed the floor number. As soon as it moved, Jen hit the switch, shutting the elevator down. She rested against the inside of the elevator. "After I turned the case over to you, I went to see Dr. Anderson. The ultrasound showed everything is fine with the baby. She told me I'd be sore for the next few days and sent me home to rest."

Gibbs rubbed her arms when he moved closer to her, standing in front of her. "You should have followed doctor's orders."

"Not when SecDef and everyone else is breathing down the agency's neck…I have to be here. It's my job, Jethro. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I stop being the Director of NCIS," she reminded him with her redheaded temper faintly burning.

He nodded, knowing how committed she was to her job. "Fair enough…but Jen, I didn't say you had to stop being the director. Don't start putting words into my mouth…and you're staying in bed, and I'm waiting on you when we get home." She opened her mouth to protest, but he silenced her with a deep kiss before turning the elevator back on.

Off the elevators, the two went their separate ways, Gibbs to autopsy and Jen to her office. The team kept working hard until they weren't fit to anymore. The boss allowed them to leave, get some sleep, and return to start all over again the next day.

Gibbs' car pulled into the driveway after 2100 and a few of the downstairs lights were on. He decided if Jen was in the study and working he'd have to have words with her. Surprisingly, the lights were only on for looks he discovered. Jen was tucked under the covers and sleeping. Gibbs walked over to the bed, took off his shoes and slid in next to her. She murmured and moved closer to him, opening her eyes. "Jethro…"

"I'm here, Jen."

"I hurt."

"Where?" he asked, concern in his voice.

"Everywhere." She was feeling the after effects of Ziva tackling her from this morning.

"C'mon," Gibbs said softly, carefully helping her sit up and get out of bed. He led her into the bathroom and started running water into the large claw foot tub. Jenny hopped onto the counter and grimaced. She made herself comfortable, watching him and absentmindedly rubbing her small baby bump.

He turned the water off and turned around, smiling at her. "You are going to soak and relax…then you're getting a massage." He kissed her and put his hand over hers.

She looked into his eyes. "I love you, Jethro."

"I love you too, Jen." He slid his arms under her, removing her from the counter. "Get undressed and soak. Have you eaten anything, Jen?"

She laughed softly at the tone of his voice, soft and caring to overprotective in less than ten seconds. "Cynthia brought me dinner at 1900."

With that answer, he walked downstairs to the kitchen for take out menus. He hadn't eaten dinner and thought she needed to eat again. She was eating for two.

She eased into the extremely hot bubbly water and groaned. She fixed the pillow behind her head and started to relax, almost asleep when he returned. He brought it into the bedroom, sat the bags down, and came into the bathroom. "Feel better?"

She nodded. "Robe please?"

He handed her the robe and put it around her when she stepped out of the tub, hugging her to him and kissing on her. She rested against him, running a hand through his hair. "Something smells good."

"Thai."

She nodded her head in approval of the choice for dinner. She tied her robe loosely around her waist and bit her lip. She smiled up at him, her eyes flashing. Gibbs rolled his eyes somewhat. He rarely cared for that certain look in her eye. It meant she had an idea that he rarely liked, and she'd twist his arm or threaten castration to get him to cooperate. "What are you thinking about, Jen?" he asked with caution.

"When this case is over, we invite everyone over for dinner and tell them the news. What do you think, Jethro?"

"Invite them to dinner here?"

"Yes, we aren't going to have a dinner party at your house. What did you think… dinner would be served in the basement and the boat would serve as the setting for the buffet? Sawdust is not appetizing, Jethro."

He looked into her eyes and rolled his own with an annoyed huff. "That's enough about the boat, Jen. If you want the team over for dinner, invite them. I'll be here," he answered. He was still surprised by her proposal of having the team over for dinner. She was a private person as was he.

"Great! I'll make invitations." She tied her robe tighter and left his arms. Her stomach was beginning to growl. She noticed where he sat the food. "Jethro, we aren't eating in the bed."

"I know, Jen. We can eat on the floor…" He started relocating the decorative pillows to the floor while she also moved some of the pillows. He didn't understand why she had to have so many pillows. "…like that time in Paris."

Jen sent a small pillow flying to his head. "Okay, enough about Paris." The reminiscing of Paris days usually put him into a mood. Tonight, she didn't feel like participating in the mood.


	3. Chapter 3

The team was back in the office at 0700, working out the clues from the day before. The boss wasn't at his desk. Tony looked around, expecting Gibbs to appear at any moment. "Where's the boss?"

McGee shrugged his shoulders. "I was the first person here, and I didn't see him."

Tony rubbed his chin and turned his head, looking in the direction of the level above the squad room. "I wonder…"

Gibbs was in the Director's office, sipping his coffee. "It'll get solved today, Jen. Tony, Ziva, and McGee should be down there working right now."

Jen snickered, looking at him over her glasses. "Jethro, Tony isn't working. He's attempting to figure out where you are."

He shrugged his shoulders, taking another swig of coffee. "Keep you updated," he told her and knew she was right about the senior field agent which is why he needed to get down there.

"Jethro, wait!" she called to him before he opened the door.

He turned around and watched her longingly eye his coffee cup.

"Little sip? Please?" she asked, half begging.

He rolled his eyes and strolled to her desk, giving her the coffee cup. She was grateful for the sip of coffee. "That's almost better than…"

Gibbs interrupted her. "Don't say it, Jen." He took his coffee cup back and left her office, breezing by Cynthia and trotting down the stairs.

"Hey boss! How's the director this morning?"

"Fine, DiNozzo. She wants this case solved. GET TO WORK!" Gibbs kicked Tony's desk, startling him.

Tony cleared his throat, looked sheepish, and started making phone calls. After following leads, interrogations, and more evidence findings from Ducky and Abby, the team determined the case involved an underage sex trade of Asian girls. Wright was trying to save the girl. He died a hero. To catch the leader of the trade, an agent had to go undercover.

"It's just that she's never been undercover, Boss," Tony stated.

"She's a highly trained NCIS Special Agent." The she they were referring to was Agent Lee.

"She's more probie than even Probie."

"She's got excellent backup," Gibbs responded and didn't look at Tony.

"Me?" he asked.

"Ziva."

"You are causing quite a stir on The Hill. Underage dead girls and Congressional aides make people nervous," Jenny said to Gibbs. She had come down after being briefed on the case by him earlier.

"Good."

"Well, she looks the part, just like a…" McGee paused, trying to think of the correct word to use."

"Whore?" Ziva questioned.

"…courtesan."

"Oh."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Gibbs asked Agent Lee.

"I saw the girl in autopsy. Yeah, I'm ready," Lee finally spoke. She had been quiet the whole time, feeling nervous.

"Okay, McGee." Gibbs looked at him, waiting for him to instruct Agent Lee.

"Separate radio transmitter and GPS built into the lining. Pressure switch on the handle turns it off if they sweep for bugs. Turns it back on when they're finished."

"Chen's going to be suspicious of everyone…particularly if someone like Agent Lee shows up. We need something else, McGee," the Director added her opinion as she viewed the preparation for the op.

"Got just the thing, Boss." McGee placed a burgundy velvet headband on Lee's

head which held a hidden camera.

Quickly, the team set into motion. Gibbs and Ziva were in the car watching Agent Lee. Tony was nearby the building and standing on the sidewalk. McGee and Jenny were in MTAC, being the eyes and ears for the rest of the team. The target entered the building, McGee locked on the GPS, and Jenny informed Gibbs that they were standing by in MTAC. Lee did well until entering into a room that cut off McGee and Jenny's insight from MTAC. The room was proofed. Thankfully, the signal came back once Lee, the leader of the sex trade, and his accomplice were on the move. With the help of the video feed from the headband and Jen's eyes, Ziva and Gibbs were able to follow. The criminals were captured, the girls rescued, and Wright's name cleared. In MTAC, Jen let out a sigh of relief that no one was harmed.

She patted McGee on the shoulder after taking off her headset. "Good job," she told the agent, knowing he didn't hear it from Gibbs enough. She left MTAC to go to her office. There was plenty of work to be done, and Jethro would be busy. She wouldn't have any interruptions for some time.

Cynthia looked at her. "Go well?" her assistant asked. The Director nodded her head and went into the silence of her office.

She buzzed Cynthia. "Cynthia, do you have those invitations ready?"

"Yes, Director," Cynthia responded and brought the invitations into the office moments later. The invitations were sealed and labeled with everyone's name.

"Thank you, Cynthia." Jen took them from her and placed them in front of her on the desk. "That will be all for now."

Cynthia took leave, and Jen picked up the phone, placing a call to autopsy. Ducky was the only person in the building besides Abby. She wanted to give him his invitation and possibly get him to deliver the rest of them.

Ducky answered. "Dr. Mallard speaking."

"Ducky, could you come to my office please? Nothing's wrong."

"Certainly. I'll be right there." The doctor hung up the phone. He left autopsy and arrived at Jen's office moments later. He waited for clearance from Cynthia unlike Gibbs.

Jen smiled at him when he walked in. "I wanted to give you this in person," she told him, handing over the invitation. Ducky politely opened the invitation and read.

"A dinner party?" He asked.

"Yes, I decided last night after the case was wrapped up…Jethro and I would have a dinner party and make our announcement."

"Delightful! Shall I bring anything?"

"Only yourself, Ducky."

He nodded his head. "I'll place the invitations on everyone's desk if need be. Don't want to look suspicious with the Director or Cynthia placing them…do we?" He winked at her.

She laughed. "No…we don't want to look suspicious. If you don't mind, that would save trouble."

Ducky beamed at Jenny. "My dear…you are positively glowing." He took the invitations from her, kissed her hand, and left to deliver them to McGee, Ziva, Tony, and Abby.

When the team arrived back to the bullpen, the invitations were waiting on them. Tony ran to his desk when he saw an envelope laying on it. "Haha…what's this?" He picked it up with a smile, flashing it obnoxiously to McGee and Ziva. "I got one…anyone else get one? The smile faded when McGee and Ziva showed him their envelopes.

"You're not that special, Tony," Ziva said with a smug look.

"You get one, boss?" Tony asked, looking across to his boss. Gibbs shook his head. He didn't need an invitation.

McGee had quietly opened his invitation and read it aloud. "A dinner at the Director's home…tonight at 1900…"

Tony almost flipped out of his chair. "What, Probie? Gimme that!" He snatched the invitation from McGee even though he had his own and quickly read it. "Are we in trouble?" Tony looked around at his coworkers, trying to think of anything they had done.

"Maybe you'll get poisoned," Ziva responded, rolling her eyes at him.

"Seriously? Boss, would she do that?" Tony looked at Gibbs.

Gibbs stared at Tony, attempting not to laugh. "The Director knows how to kill, DiNozzo."

Tony swallowed hard and sat back down at his desk, diving into paperwork. Ziva and McGee quietly wondered why they were invited to dinner at the Director's home. They were all curious as to why Gibbs hadn't received an invitation. However, discussion was not open with Gibbs in the squad room.

Shortly before 1900, Gibbs was surveying the hors d'oeuvres. The food had been catered, and Jen was upstairs getting ready. It took all of ten minutes for Gibbs to get ready for the evening. A five minute shower and changing into the pants, shirt, and jacket Jen had laid out for him was all it took. The silver haired fox looked handsome in black pants, burgundy button up, and dark gray jacket. Jen descended the stairs, putting in the diamond earrings Jethro bought for her in Paris. She took a deep breath and checked herself in the mirror. She was wearing black slacks, a deep emerald green cashmere v-neck sweater with a cream silk blouse underneath, and low heels. She turned to the side and ran her hand over her stomach, wondering how noticeable her growing belly was becoming.

"Jethro," she called.

"Kitchen," he yelled back.

She came to him in the kitchen, smacking his hand as he reached for a hors d'oeuvres. "You can wait. They'll be here soon. You are not greeting our guests at the door with a mouthful."

"Yes ma'am. Jen, stop fidgeting," he told her. She was nervously twisting her ring and smoothing out her top.

"Jethro, I can't help it. Should I change my clothes? Do I look pregnant?" she rambled out the questions and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"You look beautiful," he told her softly which brought a smile to her face. She kissed him, indulging herself into his mouth and arms before the doorbell broke them apart.

"Go answer the door, Jethro." Jen pushed him out of the kitchen. Her housekeeper, Noemi, finished putting out everything and left for the evening.

Gibbs answered the door and let Ducky into the house. "Hey Duck."

Ducky smiled at him, stepping into the house. "Evening, Jethro." He took his coat, scarf, and hat off, looking around for a sign of what to do with the items.

Jen came into view. "Give your coat to Jethro. He'll put it away," she told Ducky. At the same time, she had told Jethro he would be the coat boy for the evening.

Ducky laughed when Jethro did his infamous eye roll. Jen hugged her dear friend after his coat, scarf, and fedora were taken.

"I know you cannot drink, but I had to bring this wonderful bottle of wine I received last time I was in Italy. Maybe you could have a small sip," he rambled on to Jen about the vintage of the wine as Gibbs answered the door for a second time.

Tony, McGee, Ziva and Abby had arrived all at the same time. All were surprised to see their boss answering the door, but Tony appeared to be the most surprised.

"Uh…boss, you didn't get an invitation. What are you doing here?"

Gibbs glared at him. "Get your ass inside, DiNozzo."

Abby smiled hugely at Gibbs. "Personally, I'm happy to see my handsome silver haired fox." She greeted him with a tight squeeze, and he kissed her cheek. "Go on in, Abs."

She pushed by Tony, McGee, and Ziva to go into the house. She looked around. It was her first time being in the Director's home. Tony, Ziva, and McGee filed into the home. They hadn't ever been here either. Gibbs took their coats and put them away.

Jen came out of the parlor to greet her guests. "Good. You're all here. You can join Ducky in the parlor. Help yourselves to the hors d'oeuvres."

As the four filed into the parlor, there was a lot of whispering mostly from Tony. "What's the boss doing here? What are we doing here? This is strange."

"Shut up, Tony." McGee had heard all of this as they waited for the door to be opened.

Jethro met Jen in the foyer. "Tell them now over hors d'oeuvres?" she asked, feeling as if her nerves were going to get the best of her.

He nodded his head. "Best…before DiNozzo explodes from curiousity." He squeezed her hand. "I'll be right there beside you, Jen." She nodded her head and walked into the parlor.

"Gibbs and I have an announcement to make," she informed the room with Jethro next to her, holding onto his pinky finger.

Everyone stopped eating except for Tony and looked at the two. Gibbs held her hand, squeezing. She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, stealing courage from him. "I'm pregnant."

Tony dropped his hors d'oeuvres and nearly choked. Ducky wasn't surprised considering he had been one of the first to know. Ziva smiled at them as did McGee. Abby's reaction was one that only Abby could have. She squealed with delight, jumped from her seat, and ran to the announced couple. She hugged them both tightly. "Aww, Gibbs…you and the Director will make cute Gibblets!" Both Jethro and Jen smiled at her.

"Thanks, Abs." Gibbs kissed her cheek.

Jen hugged her closely. "Thank you, Abby…so much," she whispered gently. She felt relieved that there was one excited reaction so far. In a strange way, she felt as if the team would be upset over the announcement of the pregnancy. She knew she had been thinking the worst and was wrong now.

McGee and Tony looked at each other, nodding their heads in silent agreement as to what they would say. In unison, the two congratulated their boss. Ziva shook Gibbs hand and gave Jenny a hug, telling them congratulations and giving them a blessing in Hebrew.

Ducky stood up and looked at Gibbs. "Jethro, you know how I feel about this…about damn time."

Gibbs looked down to the floor, somewhat embarrassed that this hadn't happened sooner. Jenny laughed and kissed her man. He slid his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. The two smiled at each other. It was clear that Jenny and Gibbs were completely in love with each other and happy to be expecting a child. The group filed into the dining room for dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

The Christmas season was nearing, but that didn't stop cases from happening or stop Jen from growing. To her surprise, her superiors didn't fire her after learning she was pregnant, and the Director of NCIS wasn't treated any differently than before. She was over five months pregnant with a girl. She and Jethro had learned the sex of the baby a few weeks ago. They hadn't let anyone on the team know. After all, DiNozzo had a betting pool on if the baby would be a boy or a girl. Gibbs had moved into her home for the most part, but he maintained his house mostly because of the boat. The dynamic duo was at his house, packing up the last of his belongings that needed to be moved.

Jenny finished putting packaging tape on a box then labeled it with a black sharpie. She stood up, arching her back. She hadn't become used to the extra fifteen pounds she was carrying. Rubbing her belly, she glanced at her watch, 2200. "Leroy Jethro Gibbs," she muttered. It had been over half an hour since he disappeared. She left his bedroom and walked down to the basement. "Jethro," she reprimanded. He was working on the boat.

He looked up at her, guilty of being caught. "Yeah, Jen?"

"For the last half hour, I've been working on packing you up, and you've been working on that damn boat."

He put his tools down and sauntered up the stairs to her, taking her hand. "I needed a break," he admitted. Honestly, he hated packing when there were better things to do like work on his neglected boat, but Jen thought organizing and packing were a better use of his time. Her thoughts were apparent on her face. He helped her down the rest of the stairs when she noticed he'd sanded off the name of the boat.

"Jethro, do not name this boat after me," she warned. "I don't want it to be burned."

He couldn't help but laugh at her. "I'm not, Jen."

"Are you laughing at me?" she asked, her voice hedging with sheer annoyance and with promise of a mood swing.

"No…just laughing 'cause you're cute, Jenny."

Her eyes narrowed at him and examined his facial features along with body language. She was making an attempt to discern if he was being honest with her or only trying to pacify her. She decided he was being truthful. "Good," she whispered, kissing him and resting her hand on her stomach. "What are you doing?" She never paid much attention to what he did during the making of the boat. She only knew they ended up burned and never sailed.

"C'mere," he said, taking her hand and gently pulling her over. He offered her the sanding tool. "Go with the grain."

"Jethro," her tone let him know that she thought this was silly.

"Humor me."

She took the tool and began sanding with his instruction. He moved closer behind her, not leaving an inch of space between them and rested his chin barely on her shoulder. He placed his hand atop hers and began sanding with her.

"Do you feel the wood?" he asked, breathing against her neck. There was something he could put her in the mood for to prevent any more changes in her disposition for the rest of the night.

Jen nodded her head and glanced at him. "Yes," she slowly responded. The feeling of his breath on her neck was beginning to put her hormones into overdrive, and he knew it. The man always had a plan.

He gazed into her green eyes. "You can't get that sensation from a power tool."

She shook her head. "You definitely can't," she whispered, dropping the sanding tool and turning into him, letting him devour her mouth and his hands roam. An hour later, she was putting her clothes back on and letting her breathing even out.

"Jen, anyone ever tell you…you are amazing?" Gibbs asked from the hull of the boat, basking in the afterglow and amazed at how she could still surprise him.

"Yes, I've heard it a few times." She grinned over her shoulder at him. "Now, c'mon…let's take the boxes back to the house," she ordered, throwing his sweatshirt to him.

He sat up and pulled the shirt over his head. He stood up, zipping his jeans and slipping into his shoes with a satisfied smile on his face. He offered her a hand, tenderly pulling her up from the boat and kissing her forehead. "Love you," he said softly. She returned the words of affection to him as he walked away to straighten up the area.

She watched him and rubbed the side of her belly, feeling the kicks. Apparently, their previous activity had woken their daughter up. "She doesn't need to be a night owl like her parents."

Gibbs smirked, unnoticed by her thankfully. He couldn't remember the last time she'd stayed up past midnight. He stopped putting the tools away and turned around, kneeling down in front of Jen and putting his hand on her belly to feel the jabs to her ribs. "Instead of ballet, we'll enroll her in kickboxing," he suggested while Jen rolled her eyes. He felt around her stomach before placing a kiss and whispering, "Go easy on your mom." He got to his feet and took Jen's hand. "Go out to the car and wait for me. I'll get the boxes." She nodded her head and walked up the stairs ahead of him.

"Passenger seat, Jen. I'm driving."

"I'm capable of driving, you know."

"Yeah? So? Passenger seat, Jen."

She picked up a small box on her way out and carried it out to the car, placing it in the trunk. She slipped into the passenger seat and leaned over to turn the engine on. It was freezing inside the car. Heat on full blast was a must in the December weather. After getting warm and comfortable, she fell asleep and didn't wake up until Jethro was carrying her inside the house. She murmured softly and buried her face into his chest as he held her in his arms to the bedroom. As soon as he placed her into her side of the bed, she was fast asleep once again. Gibbs came to bed after removing the boxes from the trunk of the car. He set them all in the foyer, knowing they could wait until tomorrow. Jen didn't wake when he got into bed with her. She only snuggled over to him.

The next morning was Saturday, a much needed off day. With the hectic possibilities of work, no decorating for Christmas had been done. Jen slept deeply until 0900. The spot next to her was empty. She sat up and looked around. She didn't hear the shower or him singing one of his five favorite songs. His side of the bed was cold, but she did smell coffee. "I'd kill for one cup of coffee," she muttered and slid out of bed, putting on her robe. There were no boxes in the foyer when she came down. Gibbs had woken at 0600, unpacked the boxes, and had taken them to the trash. A fire was going in the living room, and the smell of Jamaican blend with no cream or sugar hit Jen's nostrils stronger.

Gibbs was relaxing on the dark leather sofa, reading the paper and drinking his fourth cup of coffee of the morning. "Hey sleepyhead," he said, looking up from his paper.

"Jethro, where did you put the boxes? Are they still in the car?"

"Nope."

"Jethro…" She sat down next to him on the couch, burying herself against his side and throwing a blanket over herself. He had dressed her in a lavender nighty that barely hit her at mid thigh, and she didn't even remember him doing that.

"Unpacked and thrown away," he explained, kissing the top of her head.

She smiled, easing his mug from his hands. He didn't say anything. She put the mug to her lips and waited for him to tell her to stop. "You aren't going to stop me?"

"Go ahead. You haven't touched coffee in close to five months. A little couldn't hurt."

She kissed his cheek as a thank you and drank the coffee slowly, savoring every flavor of the Jamaican blend. She laid her head against him. "Let's get the tree today."

He nodded and continued to read the paper. "And the Christmas decorations from the attic…" He half listened to her as he read. "Oh, Jethro!" He put the paper down and looked at her.

"You've got my full attention."

"Let's go ornament shopping…this will be our first official Christmas together. Well, official in the sense that we aren't in a foreign country on a mission. We need something special to commemorate the occasion. Don't you think?"

He looked at her face, seeing the brightness in her eyes and the adorable excitement in her voice couldn't bring anything but easy smile to his face. "I think so, Jen." He slipped his arm around her, stroking the side of her belly. The pair sat in silence, reading the paper and sharing the cup of coffee.

At 1200, the two had finished lunch and were browsing ornaments. Jen removed her gloves and tucked them into the pocket of her red ankle length pea coat. Gibbs wandered around the cozy store that also sold jewelry. A three stone necklace caught his eye. After a closer look, he knew that would be his Christmas present to Jen. He looked back at her. She was pointing out an ornament and asking the older woman to show it to her. "I'm just going to show my…," she paused and noticed the critical look the older woman was giving her, "husband." She smiled at the older woman and walked over to Jethro. "She thinks you're my husband," she whispered, holding the ornament carefully.

"Close enough, Jen," he said, winking at her.

She laughed softly and showed him the ornament. The ornament was a fireplace mantle with red bows and holly decorating the mantle. Two stockings hung from the mantle and atop the mantle was the writing, "First Christmas Together 2003" along with the year. "It's perfect."

"I thought so. She was telling me our names can be engraved on the stockings."

Gibbs walked over to the counter with Jen, watching her be very specific about how she wanted their names on the stockings. The ornament had to be perfect. "How long until it's done?" he asked. The woman replied that it would take an hour. There were a few ornaments ahead of theirs. He went ahead and paid, slipping his arm around Jen as they walked out of the store. "We have an hour."

"Jethro, let's shop for the baby. Can we?" Jen never saw herself being a mother and was still adjusting to the idea. The vision had left years ago when she chose career over Jethro and walked out on him. With each day, she was getting more excited and feeling a little more maternal…still she was scared as hell about the day happening. It would be her own personal version of D-Day.

"I thought you'd never suggest that."

Gibbs looped his arm with hers and walked down the sidewalk with her. Several minutes later, they were in a shop looking at everything. A few things had changed since Gibbs last became a father, but the concept was still the same. Jenny looked absolutely intimidated and much didn't give her that feeling.

"Jen," he whispered, nudging her gently. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"We look at cribs, bedding, and the rest of the furniture for the nursery. It's not hard…I promise."

She slowly nodded her head and swallowed hard, taking his hand while he led her over to the cribs. "Oh, Jethro…look," she said as she fell in love with a white round crib with a cherub on the front. He had the gut feeling that would be the one. Once the sales associate approached them, he witnessed Jen turn into a power shopper. Along with the round crib, cradle, a six drawer chest of drawers with matching decoration to the crib was chosen, a changing table, glider, and anything else Jen thought she might need. Everything coordinated perfectly. The theme of the nursery became visible…classic, pink, white, and somewhat French feeling. Jethro loved it and didn't complain about taking his wallet out. The credit card was used for the small thousands of dollars of nursery furniture purchased by Jen in forty-five minutes. She gave her address, so everything could be delivered. She kissed his cheek as he signed the bill. "Thank you."

He smiled and kissed her back. "You're welcome."

The ornament was waiting to be picked up when they made it back. The tree was the next and last thing on the agenda for the day. Gibbs drove them to the local tree farm that was outside of town. He parked the car, hopped out, and opened Jen's door. She walked beside him, rubbing her stomach in circles with an uncomfortable expression on her face. "Okay?" he asked.

"I'll be fine. She's been kicking nonstop since getting the ornament, and my ribs are the target."

"Want to stay in the car?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head and walked the area with him to find a Christmas tree. A beautiful nearly seven feet tall Douglas fir was found near the back of the lot. The agreement on the tree was immediate between Jenny and Jethro. The tree would be delivered within the hour. Much had been accomplished by the time the couple arrived back at home. They would have been home sooner if Gibbs hadn't stopped to get coffee. He followed behind her into the house.

"You didn't have to pay for the furniture," Jen told him while taking off her coat and hanging it up.

"Jen, I wanted to."

"I thought we could split it."

He gave her the classic Gibbs glare. "When she's born, are we going to cut her down the middle?"

Jen glared at him. How could he suggest cutting their daughter down the middle? That was absurd. "No, Jethro."

"Then we don't need to split the cost of the nursery."

She mumbled under her breath about his reasoning but didn't argue anymore with him. He did have a point in his Leroy Jethro Gibbs way. "I'm sorry for bringing it up," she apologized, walking over to him and slipping her arms around his waist. "At times, I find myself being unsure of this…even us. There's so much we haven't talked about."

"Jen," he looked down at her as he rubbed her back, "I'm not walking out that door. Are you walking out that door?"

She pulled away from him, looking up at him. "I-no, Jethro..."

"Neither of us is leaving. We're together, Jenny. Stop worrying."

She kissed him deeply and pulled away. "Do your kisses always have to taste like coffee?" He snickered and let her have a taste of coffee.

The decorations were pulled down from the attic, and Jenny was sorting through them when the doorbell rang. She answered it and moved out of the way so the tree could be carried inside. "In the parlor," she directed, motioning with her hands in which direction then leading the two men. Gibbs appeared and took over with the tree, relieving the two men. It was their last delivery of the day.

The tree was decorated with every possible decoration found from the attic. Jen placed the first Christmas ornament in the middle of the tree with a smile on her face. "Jethro, could you get me the stepping stool from the pantry?"

"Why?"

"So I can put the angel on top of the tree," she answered back with a duh tone to her voice.

"I don't think so. I'll do it." He left the room to get the stepping stool. He wasn't going to watch Jen possibly lose her balance and fall. He wasn't a man to take chances when it came to her.

She sat down on the couch and picked up the phone, ordering a pizza. She was starving. From her place on the couch, she watched him put the angel on top of the tree and turn the lights on. "Beautiful," she commented before he joined her on the couch. "I ordered pizza." He nodded his head and rubbed her belly softly. She settled back into the cushions of the sofa, closing her eyes and relaxing. "I'm not looking forward to getting bigger."

He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. "Jen, don't worry about that. No matter what…you are beautiful."

She opened her eyes. "C'mere."

He leaned in closer, meeting her halfway for a deep kiss. "I love you," she whispered, stroking his cheek.

"I love you too," he responded, still massaging her stomach. "And her."

"I know, Jethro." She kissed him again, enjoying the quiet time with him and the feel of his hands massaging her until the pizza delivery boy arrived, ringing the doorbell.


	5. Chapter 5

The next weeks went by smoothly. Abby decorated her lab for the holidays, DiNozzo received his share of head slaps, Ziva royally killed many American idioms, and McGee as always served his purpose as Probie, and Gibbs kept them all in order. Director Shepard frequently was in meetings with SecNav and others or involved in MTAC missions.

After a long morning with SecNav and others, Jen called Cynthia from the backseat of the Lincoln TownCar. "Cynthia, clear the rest of my afternoon. I'm going home."

"Yes, Director. Are you feeling well?"

"Fine, Cynthia. I don't feel like being in the office. Oh, tell Agent Gibbs I've gone for the day." Although everyone knew of the relationship, she and Gibbs remained tremendously professional at NCIS.

"I will, Director. If you need anything, just call." Cynthia would have to stay and field calls. Her job didn't end even if her boss had gone home for the day. Jenny hung up the phone and continued reading case reports. Cynthia picked up the phone and dialed Gibbs. He answered. "Director Shepard has gone home for the day. She's fine but didn't feel like coming back to the office."

"Thank you, Cynthia," he replied, actually being polite to Cynthia and hung up. He wasn't worried about Jenny. The meeting with SecNav in all probability drained her. A meeting with SecNav usually did that to her on a good day. He and the team continued to work for the rest of the day.

Before everyone left around 1900, Gibbs came back to the bullpen from getting coffee. He had needed a break from Tony and Ziva's bickering. "Sit back down," he told his team.

McGee, Tony, and Ziva all sat back down, waiting for what was next. The three of them had no idea what it could be considering it had been a relatively quiet day.

"Report to the Director's home tomorrow at 0900."

Tony made a face. Tomorrow was Saturday, and he took pleasure in the possibility of sleeping in. "Boss, 0900? Wouldn't 1200 be better?"

Gibbs got right in the agent's face. "Did I stutter, DiNozzo?"

"No, boss. 0900 sharp…got it," he answered, breaking the Gibbs' stare and looking down at his desk as he fidgeted with a paper clip.

"Don't dress to impress. Keep it casual. You'll get dirty. And tell Abs." With that, Gibbs turned and headed back to the elevators. He needed to get home and see if Jen had redecorated the whole house or anything else. There wasn't any telling of what she could have done in an entire afternoon by herself especially without him there to tell her no. She hadn't accepted the taking it easy concept.

McGee looked at Tony and Ziva as they picked their belongings back up to leave headquarters. "What are we going to be doing tomorrow?"

Tony smirked and dropped the paper clip into the trash. "I don't want to know until 0900. Tomorrow's Saturday. I wanted to sleep late."

"And alone," Ziva added.

"Did anyone ask for your opinion, Ziva?" he shot back as the three of them walked to the elevator and stepped inside once the doors opened. The two agents bickered the whole elevator ride. McGee was able to ignore them since he called Abby to tell her about tomorrow.

At 0900, the group was standing at the door and curious as to why they were at the home of their bosses on a Saturday morning. Tony and McGee were arguing over who should ring the doorbell.

"You do it, Probie."

"Why do I have to do it?"

"You are the Probie, and I am the senior field agent," Tony replied with stress on the word senior.

"Tony, we aren't in the field. We're at the doorstep of the Director's home," McGee answered. He didn't know that at times his boss considered this a war zone depending on the severity of a Shepard mood swing.

"Technically, it's Gibbs and the Director's home. He's moved in," Abby piped up. The three turned and looked at her, wondering how she knew that bit of information.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. Abby would have figured it out or said something to get a response from Gibbs. "Good point, Abby. McGee, ring the doorbell!"

Ziva, tired of the two bickering like old women, leaned forward and pressed the doorbell. McGee and Tony stared at the door with mouths agape. "Ziva, you could have given a count of three," Tony said to her.

"Tony!" The Israeli was beyond annoyed with the two agents especially DiNozzo. He had ridden over with her. He liked to sing in the car and couldn't carry a tune.

A few moments later, Jen answered the door and was surprised to see the visitors. She hadn't been expecting anyone. Luckily, she wasn't in her robe like she had been twenty minutes ago. Instead, she was wearing Jethro's NIS sweatshirt and jeans with her hair pulled back. "Why are you all here?" she asked, looking puzzled.

"Ma'am, Gibbs told us to report here at 0900," McGee answered respectfully.

"Oh, did he?" She smiled and immediately knew why Jethro made them report. The nursery was to be painted and furniture put together today. She wanted it all done today and possibly had threatened castration if it wasn't finished. "Come on in," she told them, opening the door fully and holding it open to allow them entrance. "Just a moment," she smiled sweetly before yelling Jethro sharply. He was in the nursery, trying to sort through the boxes and paint cans. He jogged down the stairs but wanted to run back up after seeing Jenny's face.

Tony snickered. "Boss is in trouble." The comment made him receive a look from Jen. "Sorry, Madame Director." And the look became worse from her. "I'll just shut up now." He zipped his mouth shut and smiled at her.

"Good idea," she said to DiNozzo.

Gibbs looked at all of them. "What are you all standing around for? There's work to do."

"Jethro, did you even tell them why you made them report here at 0900?"

He shook his head. If he had told them, they wouldn't have shown up.

Jen looked at Tony, Ziva, McGee, and Abby. "We are painting the nursery today. I assume Jethro didn't think I would be enough help."

"Jen, you can't help," he said to her. She didn't need to be around the paint fumes, and he didn't want her lifting anything. She had rearranged the den yesterday, and he found that out by tripping over an ottoman when he came in last night. "Now, c'mon, stop standing around and wasting time! The Director wants this done TODAY!" Quickly, everyone moved into action and followed Gibbs up the stairs.

Jen shook her head and went into the kitchen to make coffee for everyone. It's the least she could do. She couldn't believe Jethro…well, yes she could.

Tony looked around the whole way up the stairs, his eyes not knowing in which direction to look. He felt like a kid in a candy shop for the first time. He noticed an open door and stuck his head in. "Ooh, master bedroom," he thought to himself. Maybe he'd see something. Gibbs quickly snapped him out of his thoughts with a hard slap to the head. "Sorry, boss. I was just admiring the Director's sense of…uh decorating."

"Uh huh, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, staring him down and pointing to the nursery.

The nursery was directly across from the master bedroom, and the whole room was bare. "Are we painting first?" McGee asked. He'd never done anything involving a nursery before.

Abby looked at him. "Duh, McGee. You don't put the furniture in first and then paint. Where did you come from?"

Gibbs laughed at Abby and the look on McGee's face. McGee stuttered, trying to find an answer. Abby smiled and patted him on the cheek. "Timmy, you're so cute."

Tony was looking at the paint can, trying to see what the color was. "Are we painting it pink or blue, boss?"

"You haven't found out yet?" Jen questioned from behind him, holding a tray with coffee cups. Ziva took the tray from her and let everyone take a coffee mug. "Thank you, Ziva."

"Then what color?"

Jen walked over to Gibbs, slipping an arm around him. "Open the can and find out, DiNozzo," Gibbs said. He and Jen waited for Tony's reaction. The paint color was a very subdued whitish pink. Tony only stared at the paint, realizing he was wrong. He had thought the baby would be a boy.

As soon as Abby realized the paint color was pink which took all of five seconds, she hugged Gibbs and the Director tightly. Jenny laughed softly and returned the hug. "Not so tight, Abby."

Abby pulled back, sheepishly. "Sorry." She corrected the super tight squeeze hug with a softer hug to Jenny, but she pulled back quickly. "Whoa, was that her?"

Gibbs chuckled at the look on Abby's face as Jen nodded her head. "That was her, Abby."

"That's alien like. I mean I'm not saying she's an alien. I would never say that about your kid! I wasn't saying that at all! She's a human and a Gibblet…definitely not from another planet. It's just…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say to make her phrasing better.

Jen finished the sentence for her with raised eyebrows and wondered how many Caff-Pows the girl had consumed. "Weird, Abby?"

"Yes, weird…that's a good word. I like that word...but hinky is better. Hinky works for all sorts of situations. It fits everything, but the kicking was weird like really weird."

"Abs," Gibbs spoke up knowing Abby would keep going and going.

"Sorry," she said, looking at the two of them.

"Try being me," Jen replied, giving a smile to ease Abby's anxiety over the alien like comment.

Abby laughed. For some reason, she was always surprised when Jen gave signs she had a sense of humor. The humor didn't come out much at work.

Gibbs smiled at his two favorites. "Jen, get outta here. We have work to do."

"I'm going," she responded but didn't move until a glance at Jethro. "I'm going, Jethro. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the study reading your case reports…and maybe signing off on them if a good job is done in here," she teased with a smirk on her face and left the nursery.

Tony was mumbling. He couldn't believe he had been wrong in guessing the sex of the baby. Ziva looked at him. "What? Pouting because you lost the bet?"

He nodded his head, and Gibbs looked at him. "DiNozzo, you better get a brush and start painting and STOP making betting pools and placing bets about my child." The protective father was coming out in him.

"Will do, boss." He still had other chances. There was the due date, weight of the baby, how much weight Jenny would gain, and the list went on. Tony picked up a paintbrush or roller like everyone else and got to work. Before getting the idea to rearrange the den, Jen had taped off the room.

Downstairs, Jen sat at her desk in the study with glasses nearly to the end of her nose, reading files. Her cell phone began ringing, and Ducky appeared on the caller ID. She picked it up and hit the send button. "Shepard," she answered.

"Good Morning, Director."

"Morning, Ducky."

"I'm sorry for calling relatively early, but I can't help but feel as if I'm missing something. Am I missing something?"

Jenny laughed softly and leaned back in the chair, placing a hand on her belly. "You are. Jethro made everyone report here at 0900 to paint the nursery."

"Oh," Ducky said. "Well, I'm coming over. I don't want to miss anything."

Jen told him to let himself in once he got to the house and the safest thing to do would be to come into the study first. Ducky let himself into the house roughly twenty minutes later. Listening to Jenny, he came into the study and didn't go upstairs. The old friends hugged in the study.

"How is my goddaughter?" Ducky asked.

"Perfect. Restless at the moment." She opened a desk drawer and handed him the latest sonogram.

"Oh, Jenny," Ducky spoke softly as he took in the picture. "May I?" he asked.

"It's yours, Ducky. Let's go check on the knuckleheads."

"Jethro isn't painting with them?" He couldn't see Jethro letting the team paint the nursery without his supervision, but one never knew with Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"He's the ringleader."

The two shared a laugh and continued to the stairs. Hearing the noise, Gibbs came out of the nursery and closed the door behind him. "What are you doing?" he asked, looking at the redhead.

"I wanted a sit rep," she replied while Jethro rolled his eyes.

Ducky looked at the pair. "Hello Jethro."

"Hi Duck." He glanced at him and moved to stand in front of Jen. He had bits of light pink paint across his face and on his shirt. She laughed softly at him. "You can see the room when all the paint is dry. Okay?"

She nodded her head and took his hand. "Jethro, you have paint all over your face." She pulled him into the master bedroom while Ducky went inside the nursery to supervise.

"More paint will get on my face by the time it's done, Jen."

"Right now, I want to kiss you without getting paint on mine." She grabbed a hand towel, wet it with warm water, and dabbed his face once inside the bathroom. He rested his arms around her hips, placing his hands on her butt and squeezing.

"Jethro," she warned.

He shrugged innocently and kissed her after a quick glance in the mirror. He was free of paint. She kissed him back, putting her hands on his chest to pull away. "Jethro," she said breathily, "do not get me started."

"I'm not, Jen," he alleged.

She shook her head and kissed him one more time. "Get back to work," she instructed much to his dismay. Unfortunately, he misinterpreted the break. She had work on her mind and walked out of the room with him. He went into the nursery, and she went back downstairs to the study.

Three hours later, the painting in the nursery was finished. The paint needed to dry, and everyone was hungry. Ducky had left to pick up the take out requests for the team that had worked hard. McGee, Tony, and Ziva didn't want the Director not signing off on their case reports because of a terrible job. They had agreed once the paint dried that Tony and Gibbs would work on putting together and moving the furniture while McGee and Abby would do the lighting for the room. Ziva had to leave for her martial arts class. Downstairs, Jenny thanked her for her assistance and walked her to the door.

Ducky arrived back with the food, yelling up the stairs for everyone to come down. Jenny helped him with the bags and walked into the kitchen. DiNozzo was the first one to make it. He had run down the stairs and straight into the kitchen, grabbing a seat and digging through the bags for his food. The rest of the group took a slower pace. Jen took a seat next to Tony and waited on Gibbs. Gibbs came up beside her and rubbed her shoulder. "Waiting on me?" he asked. In reply, she nodded her head.

"Sit right there. I'll get our food."

"Aww," came from Abby. "You're so cute." She loved watching the interaction between the two.

Gibbs smiled at Abby and sifted through the bags of take out until he found his and Jen's food. Jen turned her head and looked at Tony who was staring at her. "What?"

"Nothing." He shook his head. He had been in awe of Gibbs being nice.

She smirked at him and picked a pepperoni off his pizza slice.

"Hey! Mine!" He pulled his plate away and guarded it.

She slapped him on the back of the head which sent everyone into laughter. Gibbs smirked at the shocked look on his agent's face. "DiNozzo, she learned from me."

"Yeah, she did," he answered, rubbing the back of his head. "Want another pepperoni?" he asked Jenny.

She simply shook her head no. "I only wanted one."

The group ate and chatted, discussing cases, holidays, and the nursery. There wasn't a lull in conversation with these people. By the time lunch was gone, the paint was dry with the help of three fans in the room. Jen was inspecting the room and gave them a thumbs up of approval.

With all the furniture, it seemed as if the easy task had been the painting. The group worked diligently until the baby's room was complete. Jen with the assistance of Ducky had directed where she wanted the crib, bookcase, changing table, armoire, dresser, glider, wall sconces, chandelier, and anything else that needed to be in the nursery. Thankfully, Gibbs and DiNozzo only had to move everything once for the moment. The process had taken all day and was well worth it.


	6. Chapter 6

The couple shared a simple Christmas together. Mutually, Jenny and Jethro agreed not to get married. He didn't have the best track record with marriages. As soon as it was official, disaster seemed impending with his relationships. If he hurt Jenny, Ducky had threatened to do Jethro's autopsy only he would still be breathing. Abby had reminded him that she knew how to not leave any forensic evidence. Tony was too chicken to stand up to the boss as was McGee. Ziva knew it was best to stay out of personal affairs with Gibbs and the Director, but he knew she would make use of her knife if he did anything to cause Jenny pain. For Christmas, Jethro had given Jenny an uncomplicated silver band with the inscription, Jenny & Jethro. Surprisingly, she had given him the same thing. He'd also given her the three stone necklace he found on the day of Christmas shopping. He wore his silver band on his necklace, and she wore hers on the ring finger of her right hand.

Being seven months pregnant, Director Shepard had slowed down. She had somewhat accepted the changes her body was going through. She didn't care for the abandonment of most of her high heels or the urge to go to the bathroom every five minutes. No one had been able to accept her hormones. Gibbs took the bulk of the mood swings, but he knew how to deal with them. There was no traveling out of the country for her. She was limited to MTAC, dinners, conferences, meetings, and every other aspect involving her role as director. She was overseeing a mission in MTAC this morning. Gibbs and the team received a call shortly after 0800. In a local school, there was a kid with a bomb strapped on his chest. He was holding hostages in a classroom. Tony, Ziva, and McGee arrived on the scene in the NCIS truck. Gibbs was already there.

"You two follow my lead. It's not my first time at this particular kind of dance," Tony told Ziva and McGee.

"Yeah, I've been through a few myself, Tony." Ziva hated his know it all arrogance. He always acted like he had the most experience.

"Well, you know what? I've played "Counter Strike" online. It's pretty realistic," McGee chimed in while his partners rolled their eyes.

"Well, you only get one life here, Elf Lord," Tony told him, getting the gear together.

Gibbs approached them, briefing them on the situation. "The kid's in a classroom in the south wing. SRT's set up a command post in the east wing. McGee, Ziva, recon the exterior. Put the gear down. DiNozzo…with me."

"On your six, Boss!" Tony replied excitedly, running after Gibbs. He took pride in being Gibbs' right hand man even if it had never been spoken.

Inside the school office, Gibbs and DiNozzo learned that the target's name was Kody Meyers and fifteen years old. A witness had confirmed he came to class with a bomb strapped to his chest, but she hadn't been able to describe the device. A perimeter had been set outside the classroom, and all nonessentials were evacuated. EOD's were on site sweeping for secondary bombs. There were four or five hostages in the classroom. No one had made contact yet. Gibbs' job was to establish communication with Meyers. Ziva and McGee checked the perimeter although McGee wasn't too stealthy. His new shoes squeaked loudly. Fortunately, Ziva was able to get a few photos taken before she was noticed. The blinds in the classroom were quickly closed after she'd been spotted. DiNozzo took his orders of finding information about the child's parents. Gibbs went to make contact. Kody sent a girl out of the classroom. She needed to get another girl's inhaler. Tony took the girl to debrief her. McGee had collected background on Kody. The girl wouldn't be sent back in with the inhaler. A robot would be sent in, but there was a technical glitch that would take twenty minutes to fix. Twenty minutes was too long, and Gibbs made the decision he would take the inhaler into the classroom. He walked out with the inhaler, telling Ziva to give the message to Tony to get on channel two. He was let into the classroom, and the inhaler was given to the asthma attack stricken girl.

Back at NCIS, Jenny walked out of MTAC and silently cursed for choosing to wear knee high heeled boots that weren't broken in enough. She was finished with the mission and had briefed SecNav about it. She was craving a danish from Jethro's coffee shop and felt like making him errand boy. However, Cynthia met her in the hallway. "Director Shepard," she said. The tone of her voice let Jenny know something was hinky as Abby would say.

"What is it, Cynthia?"

"There's a situation at a school. There's a fifteen year old with a bomb strapped to his chest, and he's holding several students hostage."

"Oh God," Jenny whispered to herself. "What else?" she asked, walking towards her office with Cynthia. She wouldn't be getting her danish.

"Agent Gibbs is inside the classroom. A hostage needed an inhaler, and he took it to her."

Jenny's eyes widened with panic. "What? No one else could send in the inhaler?"

"They were going to send in a robot, but there were technical problems, director."

Jenny shook her head. "Leave it to Jethro," she thought. "Cynthia, I want to be updated about this situation every five minutes." She walked into her office, closing the door. She sat down to gain composure. "He will be fine. Jethro knows what he's doing. There's no need to worry, Jenny," she told herself aloud. She felt the baby kicking and rubbed her belly with a sigh. "Your father is an idiot." She picked up the phone and called DiNozzo. The phone call didn't make her feel any better. They had no contact with Gibbs. The boy was smart. He'd made a fellow student check Gibbs for weapons and earwigs. No weapons were found, but the earwig had been. She hung up with DiNozzo and paced behind her desk before opening her left second desk drawer. She took her gun out, checked it, and tucked it into the side of her skirt. Cynthia opened her door and stood, watching her boss and trying to find some words of comfort for her but she was unsure of what to say. She'd never seen her this way.

"Director Shepard, Doctor Mallard is here to see you."

"Send him in, Cynthia," she responded, fixing her jacket and glancing at Ducky once he stepped inside. She continued the pacing around her desk.

"Anything new?" Ducky asked as he entered the office. The look he gave her told her she needed to sit down and not pace, but it was of no use.

"I just got off the phone with DiNozzo. Still no contact."

"What exactly happened?" He hadn't been informed of the situation. There were no bodies, so he hadn't been called to the scene. Deep down, he hoped he wouldn't be called to the scene.

"Jethro happened, Ducky! He went in to deliver a sick girl's inhaler and got invited to stay." She was beside herself with worry.

"Yeah, but how could he…" Ducky paused. "Of course…he probably planned the whole thing." He rested on the table in her office.

"Jethro doesn't plan, Ducky. He follows his damn gut." She hated that famous gut of his right now. Was he not thinking about himself? About her? About their daughter? What would she do if something happened to him?

"Well, it usually serves him well," Ducky told her in effort to remind her of the positive characteristic of Gibbs' intuition. It rarely failed him.

"It also gets him into trouble," she countered his attempt, turning to face him and placing her hands on her hips.

"You would only be a hindrance down there."

"What makes you think…?" She looked at him, her green eyes wide.

"You're wearing your sidearm."

"Gibbs was my partner, Ducky…for a long time. I cannot just sit by here and do nothing."

"And the father of your child. You are in no condition to go down there. And nobody expects you to do nothing. "

Jenny sighed heavily. If she wasn't pregnant, she would be down there. In that moment, she realized what she could do. "Cynthia," she called. Her faithful assistant appeared in the open doorway, waiting for her orders as Jen walked to her desk and removed the sidearm to put it back. "I want a direct feed into DiNozzo's command post, ASAP."

"Yes, director," Cynthia replied, following the order and going to her desk.

"That is a good decision, director," Ducky said, standing in front of her desk and giving a look of approval.

"I'll believe that, Ducky…when the situation is defused."

"Right," he answered and decided to stay with her in the office. She was emotional and needed to be kept calm.

Cynthia put the direct feed to the command post into Director Shepard's office. Tony was trying to think like Gibbs. There were snipers in place. No one could take a shot without clearing it through him. Tony went to the classroom to talk to Kody through the door. He made his demand. He wanted to see his mother. Also, he let DiNozzo know that he had until sundown on making that come true. Once the boy's father arrived, they found out the demand may be impossible to meet. His mother had been dead for a year. She died in a boating accident. Tony went back down to the classroom and stood near the door.

"I want you to know that Special Agent Caitlin Todd is out looking for your mom."

"Don't come back until you find her! I… I won't tell you again!" Kody responded.

"All right, I'm going." Tony left and walked down the hall. He let Gibbs know that the boy's mother was dead by using Kate's name. His phone began vibrating, and he answered. "DiNozzo."

"Hold for the director," Cynthia informed the agent.

Once transferred to the director, he updated her on the situation.

"He wants his dead mother brought to the classroom?" Jen asked. She had the phone on speaker, so Ducky could listen.

"He won't accept she's dead. He thinks he saw her recently."

"It's not an unusual fantasy in grief," the medical examiner gave his opinion.

"That's an impossible demand," Jenny said, looking at Ducky.

"I know, director. I'm working on it," he told her. He didn't need Director Shepard on his ass at the moment.

"Define working on it, Agent DiNozzo." She needed to know every detail on what was happening. Lives were on the line.

"SRT's in place. Working on getting visual access into the room and a way to contact Gibbs."

"And?" she asked, still needing to know more.

"And we're just getting started."

"What's your deadline?"

"Sundown. About five hours."

"How powerful is the bomb?"

"Uh, don't know yet. Sciuto and Agent McGee are going through the kid's computer and everything found in his room…trying to work out what the explosive is."

"Does he have a dead-man switch?"

"Hoping Sciuto and McGee can tell us that."

"And if he doesn't?"

"You want me to take him out."

"It may be your only option." She hated to say that considering the boy was fifteen years old, but she knew if it came down to it…it would have to be done.

"I'd like to get them all out alive, director…including Kody."

"I agree…but if it's not possible, I need to know that you're capable of making the call."

"I've done it before."

"On a fifteen year old? If the time comes…you cannot hesitate. You cannot second guess yourself."

"Okay, if you don't trust me, I suggest you relieve me. Otherwise, leave me alone. I've got work to do, ma'am." With that, DiNozzo hung up the phone on the director.

Jenny shook her head and muttered under her breath about how Gibbs had rubbed off on DiNozzo. She told Cynthia to get her the file on the drowning of the boy's mother. The boy wanted his mother, and she would do what she could to get his mother.

Luckily, McGee and Abby realized there were webcams and mics on the computers in the classroom. They could hack in and make contact with Gibbs. They could also let Tony and Ziva see everything too. Gibbs continued talking with Kody and noticed McGee and Abby making contact with him. With visual access to the room, Tony and Ziva realized there was no dead man switch on the bomb. A head shot would stop everything. The snipers went into action, but Tony grappled with the decision. He told the snipers not to take the shot. Like Gibbs, he had a gut feeling. Thanks to Gibbs signing to Abby, she realized the boy was being controlled. The circumstances weren't his doing. With McGee and Abby's technical and hacking wizardry, the video of the classroom was looped to the men controlling Kody. In reality, the classroom had been emptied. The men were found in a van and taken down. Everyone went back to NCIS unharmed. In the squad room, the team was eating pizza, discussing the events of the day, and realized they hadn't seen Gibbs in a while. They all looked up to the director's office. Her office was the first place Gibbs had gone to when getting back. Jenny had been pacing back and forth in Cynthia's office when he came up. She had hugged him tightly until he couldn't breathe. She pulled away from him, knowing the case wasn't over to him.

"It takes guts to testify against Carlos Mendez," she said as the two of them stood outside her door.

"It took more guts to fake her death and walk away from a husband and son to protect them."

"Eighteen years is a long time to seek revenge...even for a Colombian drug lord."

"Jen, I've got to find her," he said, looking at her.

"No. You don't," she returned sternly

He sighed, giving her his look. "You know, Kody Meyers has had one hell of a day. It's the least I can do for this kid."

She smirked and pushed the door of her office open. The whole family was reunited. It took Jen most of the afternoon and several favors to locate Kody's mother. Gibbs looked genuinely shocked to see what he saw. Jenny smiled, pleased with herself.

"Good to see I can still surprise you, Jethro."

He looked at her, shaking his head. He never knew what he was going to get with her. She was a woman filled with tricks up her sleeve. "Every day is a surprise." He kissed her gently. "Let's go home. It's been a helluva day."

She nodded, pulling on her coat. Gibbs took her bag to carry and slipped his arm around her. The two walked out of the office, stopping on the catwalk to observe the squad room. He told the team to go home for the night. Everyone looked up and nodded their heads, smiling at the sight of Gibbs and the director side by side and arm in arm walking to the elevator to go home for the night.


	7. Chapter 7

The sound of the alarm going off at 0500 woke Jen from her sleep. She hit the snooze and was out of bed fifteen minutes later. With a soft groan, she stretched her back and stared at her lover, eyes closed and still under the covers. She knew he was awake and only enjoying the warmth of bed. She walked into her large closet, flipping on the light. She hated walking into her closet during the weekdays to figure out what to wear. Nothing seemed to fit properly in her opinion. She stood in the middle of the closet, surrounded by all of her clothes and various shoes. She sighed heavily and rested her hand on her baby bump, tapping her nails against her belly. Maybe if she checked the weather that would aide in her outfit decision making process. She needed to choose wisely; today was her last day at NCIS before maternity leave. She exited the closet and walked to her nightstand to take her phone off the charger. She couldn't tell Jethro to check the weather. He barely knew how to answer her phone much less use the features. As for the weather, it would be a cool March day.

Gibbs lay in bed with his eyes closed and enjoyed the quiet since the alarm finally stopped buzzing. He did feel eyes staring at him, so he moved out of bed, going straight to the bathroom for his morning routine and not meeting the eyes staring at him. If he stayed in bed any longer, Jen would castrate him. She had been moody all week. Her policy seemed to be if she was miserable he needed to be miserable also. If she was out of bed, then he needed to get out too. Still, he wasn't on her shit list like DiNozzo. Last week, he made a joke about her having a mood swing in the next five seconds while she was in full scene mode as Abby would say. Of course, he was much smarter than DiNozzo and knew never to say something like that to Jenny. He turned on the shower and brushed his teeth when he felt her eyes watching him for a second time.

"Jethro, I don't have anything to wear."

"Jen, there's a whole closet."

She poked her lips out in a pout and left the bathroom doorway, muttering under her breath. He rinsed his mouth out and joined her in the closet moments later.

"Okay…you got me. I'll help you."

She smiled, pleased that a pout was all it had taken. She kissed his cheek, showing him two options. "What do you think?" she asked of him, holding up two outfits. He made a face as he thought about what she would do if he picked the outfit she didn't want to wear. He chose the charcoal lightweight sweater dress over the gray pinstripe pants and teal v-neck sweater with button up underneath. Thankfully, she seemed pleased with his decision.

"Now, I'm going to get in the shower," he said as she looked at him. "…if that's okay with you," he added, playing it safe since her face was unreadable. There were too many thoughts going through her mind. "The bathroom will be all yours when I'm done." He walked back into the bathroom since she didn't seem to be paying attention to him.

While waiting on him to get out of the bathroom, Jen selected what he was going to wear for the day and went downstairs to put the coffee on. She made a piece of toast for herself and went back upstairs with perfect timing. He was stepping out of the shower and putting the towel around his waist. She stopped next to him, offering him a bite of her toast.

"Coffee's making," she told him before letting him have the remaining half of toast then removed her nightgown.

He watched her with that dreamy faraway look in his eye, the same look he'd get whenever he thought about Paris. He let out a low whistle at her.

"Oh, please, Jethro," she remarked, rolling her eyes at him. She didn't feel sexy and didn't care to be whistled at by him this morning.

He smirked and focused his attention on shaving as she took her shower. He tried not to laugh when he heard her body wash drop followed by her not so muttered curse word. He stepped to the shower door, knowing his name would come along. He opened the door as soon as she said his name. "Problem, Jenny?"

She mildly glared at him. "You know damn well there's a problem," she spat out, pointing to the bottle of vanilla scented body wash.

"Need me to pick it up?"

"Jethro!"

He chuckled silently and bent down to pick up the bottle, handing it to her once he straightened. Nothing besides him annoyed her more than to drop something and not be able to bend to pick it up. "Anything else, Jenny?"

"No, Jethro. Nothing else," she told him and slammed the shower door shut on him.

There went his idea of morning fun. He walked back to the counter. "Did you lay out my clothes?"

"Yes, I did."

He grinned, amused by her antics. He could select his own clothes, but Jen had taken it upon herself to choose what he'd wear these last few weeks. He'd become slightly used to it and shrugged it off as part of the nesting stage. If she wanted to pick his clothes, he would let her. It was mild compared to the other parts of her nesting. The house wasn't ever clean enough, and he believed she'd unfolded and refolded all the baby clothes nothing less of a hundred times. He enjoyed being taken care of by her, and she enjoyed being taken care of by him. He got dressed and went down to the kitchen to make breakfast. They rotated mornings on making breakfast if they had the time for it.

When Jen came into the kitchen, he smiled at her. She looked beautiful in the dress. Her hair was now shoulder length and layered. There were some perks to being pregnant. Her hair had grown faster and her nails were as long as they'd ever been. He handed her a cup of tea and looked her up and down.

"Uh…Jen…"

"What?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea and easing down into the chair at the island.

"Did you mean to put on those brown boots?" He didn't know if brown and charcoal went together, but he knew the pair of black suede boots was her favorite pair since they'd become broken in.

She sighed heavily. "No! I cannot see my feet!"

He laughed softly and kissed the top of her head, rubbing her shoulders. "Calm down. I'll go get your black ones."

Thank you, Jethro," she said softly. She started to eat breakfast, too hungry to wait for him. A few minutes later, he came down and back to the kitchen. He pushed the chair around so that she was facing him.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously and with raised eyebrows.

"I'm going to put your boots on." He slipped the dark brown suede boots from her feet and rubbed her calves. "Don't complain in the middle of the day when your feet hurt."

"I won't. I'll call you to come and rub them." She grinned, her eyes sparkling at how sweet he could be.

He shook his head and put the black suede boots on her feet, zipping the side. He stood up and kissed her deeply. She returned the kiss and stroked his face. "Thank you," she told him.

"You're welcome." He kissed her forehead. "How's my girl?" he questioned, putting his hand atop her belly.

"Awake and active if you can't tell." She placed her hand over his and squeezed. He smiled like the proud father he was when he felt a kick. He leaned down and kissed her belly before sitting down next to her to eat breakfast.

"Jethro, I believe our daughter would like to have a name before she's born," she said, looking at him as she sipped her tea. They hadn't had time to thoroughly discuss names. When they did, nothing was ever agreed on.

"Why don't we ask the team to write names down, put them in a hat, and draw out two names?" He was kidding.

Jen put her cup of tea down and scowled at him. She put her hand dangerously close to his crotch and let him know her nails were sharper. He winced and removed her hand. "Jen, withdraw the claws. It was a joke."

The scowl remained on her face, and he kept a firm hold on her hand until she put both hands where he could see them. "It wasn't funny, Jethro. She doesn't have a name."

"It'll come to us. We have plenty of time."

She shook her head, not understanding how he could be so calm and not worry about what she did. He could be so infuriating yet she loved him no matter what he did. Her current worries were getting through her last day at NCIS, naming their daughter, the agency surviving Jethro as acting director, what her body would look like after birth, and most importantly the delivery but the last was a constant worry. Within seconds, her mood swing had passed. "Are you gonna finish that?" She reached over to take the piece of bacon from his plate. She always asked but never waited for his answer.

He tapped her hand with his fork, and she pulled her hand away, looking at him innocently. He shook his head and put the piece of bacon on her plate.

"Thank you." She kissed him lightly on the cheek.

At 0630, the doorbell rang. Both knew it was Stanley to pick Jen up and drive her to work. She quickly left the kitchen and got her briefcase and bag from the study. Gibbs walked to the door and opened it.

"Morning, Stanley."

"Morning, Agent Gibbs," Stanley replied.

"Is the director almost ready?"

Gibbs nodded and gave Stanley a thermos of coffee. Stanley nodded a thank you. "Who made it?"

"She did."

Stanley smiled. Both made a great cup of coffee, but he liked Director Shepard's better…so did Gibbs. Jen appeared in the foyer. "I feel like I'm forgetting something…" She looked around aimlessly.

"Your coat, Jen."

"Right!" She walked over. "Hi Stanley," she said, giving him her briefcase and bag. He took them and put them in the car. She grabbed her dark red trench coat from the rack, and Jethro helped her put it on. She faced him. "I'll see you at the office. Love you," she told him with a kiss.

"I'll see you there. Love you." He stood at the door, watching her get into the car. Stanley closed the door and waved goodbye. Once inside, Jen put on her glasses and started reading autopsy and case reports. She needed to get a head start on the day. Plus, however much work she finished would be less for Gibbs to handle as acting director.

Director Shepard stepped off the elevator and walked towards her office. She looked to the squad room as she walked by, taking this route for one certain purpose. McGee, Ziva, and Tony were watching her. She glared at Tony, and he quickly spun his chair around. Gibbs was standing in front of his desk, coffee cup in hand.

"DiNozzo, I wouldn't push your luck."

"Luck with what, boss?"

"The director."

"Oh, is she still mad about that?"

Gibbs smirked, taking a sip of his coffee and walking to his desk.

"I'll take that as a yes." Tony scratched his head and felt uneasy. He felt like the director might sneak up on him without him knowing and murder him. He would look over his shoulder all day. Gibbs laughed as he watched DiNozzo. He knew what the agent was thinking, and he did have every right to be worried.

Much to her relief, her last day at headquarters was a quiet one. There wasn't a case, so the team had been catching up on paperwork. Before lunch, Ducky entered her office. "Hello, my dear. How are we feeling?"

She was sitting at her desk, hands folded over her stomach. She hadn't noticed the doctor entering her office and looked in his direction. "What did you ask, Ducky?"

"How you are."

"I'm fine."

He shook his head. "You are a million miles away. What is it?" he questioned, taking a seat in front of her desk.

"Nothing. I'm only thinking about…" she paused as she tried to describe what exactly she was thinking about.

"Everything?"

She blushed softly and nodded her head. "Yes, everything. I'm thinking about not being in my office for weeks, the birth, and the agency," she answered, naming only a few things she was concerned about.

"There's no need to worry, director. Your office will be well kept so will the agency. I can't tell you about birth. That's not on my list of experiences," he said with a laugh, smiling as she shared it with him.

"Ducky?"

He nodded, urging her to continue. In his experience of Jenny, there was something tugging on her mind if she was quiet and would rarely voice it except if it was someone she deeply trusted.

"I'm scared," she admitted quietly and aloud for the first time in years. "All I know is being an agent and Director of NCIS. I don't know how to be a mother."

"Have you told Jethro?"

She met the doctor's eyes. "Would it make a difference?"

He made no comment but knew it would make a difference. "Your maternal instincts will come naturally. You didn't know how to be a NCIS agent in the beginning, but you learned from Jethro. Now, you are director. You will learn to be a mother, Jenny. You and Jethro will learn to become parents together. I imagine with the two of you it won't be easy either, but it will be worth it."

She listened to him and took his words in silently. He was right. Becoming a parent would be a learning process. She and Jethro would learn with each other, and it wouldn't be easy. They had always the habit of doing things the hard way. Her features slowly eased as she felt better. Ducky smiled, watching her forehead unwrinkle and the rest of her features ease. He stood up and moved the chair back to its place. "Glad I could be of help."

"Thank you, Ducky."

As he was walking to the door, Jethro opened the office door. "Hey Duck," he greeted.

"Hello Jethro," he returned the greeting, looking back to smile at Jenny before walking out.

Gibbs walked over to her desk and behind it, giving her a kiss. "Hey."

"Hi," she said softly and took his hand in hers.

"You okay?"

She nodded her head. "A lot on my mind."

He nodded his head and squeezed her hand before helping her to her feet. "Hungry?"

"You know I am," she answered, watching the smirk come over his face. He watched her roll her eyes. "Did you leave the food on Cynthia's desk?"

He shook his head. "Nope. We're going to sit down and eat today."

"We always sit down and eat, Jethro."

"Smartass," he mumbled and helped her into her trench coat. "We are going to wherever you want to go and having lunch."

She glanced over her shoulder at him. "Who are you and what have you done with my Jethro?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "I can't take my girl out for a real sit down meal?"

"You can, but you never do."

That wasn't the first time he'd heard her say that. "I am today," he told her, taking her hand and walking out of her office. Both of them decided to take the stairs once they observed the squad room. Tony was leaning back in his chair with his feet propped on his desk. McGee was still diligently working as was Ziva. The three of them were waiting on their take out orders to arrive. Gibbs and Jenny came upon the team without a sound and listened to the conversation.

"Okay, so…any final thoughts?" DiNozzo asked of his teammates.

McGee looked at Tony. "Twenty pounds."

"Really, Probie?"

"What's wrong with twenty pounds?"

"C'mon, it's more than that!"

"It's my answer. What's yours?"

"I'd say thirty pounds. Ziva?" DiNozzo looked in the direction of the Israeli.

"Tony, I am not participating. I do not agree with taking guesses at how much Jenny's gained during the pregnancy. I am not participating in this betting tub."

"Pool, Ziva…POOL!"

DiNozzo didn't notice the two figures behind him. Ziva was the first to notice, and McGee the second. He had followed Ziva's eyes. Tony, realizing his teammates had fallen silent, slowly swiveled his chair around. He swallowed hard as he stared at the face of Jennifer Shepard. If looks could kill, he would be dead and buried under the NCIS headquarters. "Oh, hey…how are you?"

She concentrated her death glare, redheaded temper rising with every second. Gibbs looked entirely amused by reaction of DiNozzo. The agent was beginning to perspire from sheer nervousness and fear. However, he noticed Jenny's fists were clenched which wasn't ever a good sign. "Jen, c'mon. You can kill him later. Jen," he said, rubbing her back. She glanced at him. "Kill later. Let's eat first." He had to do nothing less than pull her away from the bullpen. She did a lot of screaming in the elevator and thought of several ways to kill the agent on the way to the car. Gibbs somehow convinced her not doing anything and making DiNozzo extremely paranoid would be better than the actual kill. He was a good agent and entertaining at times; the team wouldn't be the same without him. The couple went to lunch and returned an hour later. The afternoon went by smoothly for the team, and the director spent hers in MTAC. Jenny was saddened by her last day of work when she left headquarters with Jethro at 1900 but grateful she wouldn't have to choose an outfit tomorrow morning.


	8. Chapter 8

Director Shepard had been on maternity leave since third full week of March. Gibbs was the acting director in her absence. She wasn't too worried about the agency. Jethro was capable even though he had his own approach in doing her job. Fortunately, she could keep an eye on what he was doing since he did come home to her every night. At home, Jenny didn't know what to do with herself. She was a workaholic in the best sense and had no idea what to do until D-Day, April 14th. On the other hand, Gibbs hated being acting director. The work was much better suited for Jenny. He'd rather be in the field than signing papers or having Cynthia harass him about the agenda for each day. Cynthia didn't know how she'd be able to put up with him, and he'd only been acting director for a week.

Cynthia stood in front of the desk. She'd finally made progress with getting him to sign off on reports. However, he wasn't reading them. He was picking and choosing by if he knew the agent or the agent's location. The director's private line started ringing. Cynthia put her hand on the phone as did Gibbs. He looked at her with the typical annoyed glare she always received from him.

"Cynthia."

"Agent Gibbs, it's her private line."

"I know."

"She expects me to answer. What if it's important?"

"Cynthia, she knows I'm in here." With that said, he picked up the phone.

He heard Jenny's voice. "Hello Cynthia...hello...Cynthia?" She'd expected her faithful assistant to answer even if Gibbs was there.

"Nooooooo," he responded.

"Jethro, I should have recognized the heavy breathing. Is the agency intact?"

"I cut it up into small bits and pieces and sold it to the three letter boys."

She laughed at him, knowing he was joking with her. At least, she hoped he was joking. He gave Cynthia a look, dismissing her.

"Jen, you don't have to call and check up on me."

"I know."

"Okay…what's up?" He assumed there had to be a reason she had called.

"I don't know what to do with myself. I think I'm going crazy," she responded. She wasn't used to being at home with no work to do. She felt as if she might go insane if she stayed at home a minute longer. She had to stop herself from getting in the car and driving to headquarters.

"You take care of yourself…relax, watch TV, read a book, and not worry about NCIS."

"But Jethro," she started and stopped, sighing softly. He was right, and she hated him being right. "Thank you, Jethro. Love you," she said into the phone before hanging up. The task of not worrying about the agency wasn't an easy one to dissolve, but Jenny became better at it. She had been shopping, pampered herself with manicures, pedicures, and massages, and put the finishing touches on the nursery. Abby had the idea of giving the director a baby shower, but she didn't know who to invite. She realized that Jen didn't have many friends. She was devoted too much to her work. Instead, everyone agreed to bring gifts over after the Gibblet was born.

Gibbs came home with dinner around 1800. He found Jen in the nursery, folding baby clothes recently purchased earlier in the day. He came up behind her and listened to her hum. She turned around and startled. "Dammit, Jethro…I hate it when you do that."

He smirked in amusement then kissed her. "I brought dinner home."

Jenny nodded her head, tucking her red hair behind her ears. "Look what I found today." She unfolded some of the clothes to show him. Jethro slid his arms around her, rubbing her swollen belly. She relaxed against him, enjoying his arms around her. First, she showed him a pink camouflage onesie that read, "I may look harmless, but I'm being raised by a marine."

He had a smile on his face as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "Cute."

The second read, "Don't mess with me. My dad is a marine." That outfit for the baby made him laugh. The third and final onesie was lavender and said, "I'm a simper fi kind of girl."

He kissed the side of Jen's face. "Where's the one that says, "Don't mess with me. My mommy's the Director of NCIS?"

She laughed softly. "I didn't see one of those, Jethro. They aren't exactly made in bulk. How did your day go?" she asked, putting the clothes into the dresser drawer.

"Fine. Yours?"

She slightly raised an eyebrow but didn't feel like asking him any more questions. Honestly, she didn't want to know who he'd pissed off from another agency. "I had an appointment with Dr. Anderson. The baby's healthy, but she hasn't made any signs of coming before the due date." Jen was ready for her tenant to move out. She felt clumsy with the added thirty pounds from the pregnancy and uncomfortable since the baby had dropped.

"She'll come soon enough."

"Jethro, if I go past the due date, I might shoot something or someone," she said in all seriousness. Unfortunately, the look on her face let him know he'd be the one to receive a bullet.

"Shoot DiNozzo."

That got a belly laugh from her. She kissed him softly. "Let's go eat. I'm hungry." Jen walked ahead of Jethro out of the nursery. He turned off the light on his way out and watched Jen gingerly take each step. He didn't know how she would react if the baby didn't arrive on the due date, and he didn't know how he'd survive either. The two ate dinner together, chatted, and called it an early night. She was grateful for Jethro having to go to work and leaving early each morning. She was much more comfortable when she had the whole bed to herself.

Much to her dismay, Jen did go past her due date of April 14th. She wasn't a happy camper to say the least. Nothing happened the day after her due date or the day after that or the following day. Dr. Anderson decided to induce Jenny on Monday if nothing happened before. Leon Vance was now acting director. Gibbs was going to take three weeks off starting on Thursday to be at home with Jen and the baby.

It was Friday, and team had been notified the body of a marine had been found. Gibbs appeared in the bullpen. "Grab your gear. Body of a marine found dead in a field. Get the car," he ordered to DiNozzo. They followed orders and headed out to the scene. McGee let Ducky know on the way to the car.

Gibbs drove, and Tony rode shotgun with Ziva and McGee in the backseat. Gibbs sent Ziva and McGee to investigate the perimeter. Tony was with Gibbs, taking photos of the marine's body and surroundings. Gibbs' cell began ringing. He took it out of his pocket and looked, immediately answering. "Yeah?"

"Jeth...Jeth…ro…" Jenny grounded out his name. She had felt uncomfortable all night but hadn't said a word. She had thought it was Braxton Hicks contractions and her back hurt most of the time lately.

"I'll be right there," he said, quickly hanging up and running towards the car.

"Hey Boss…uh…BOSS!" Tony yelled at Gibbs, but he received no answer. Gibbs jumped into the car, started the ignition, and drove away in a cloud of dust. "BOSS! WHERE THE HELL!" He shouted for the sake of shouting. The yelling got McGee and Ziva's attention.

They ran over to Tony and looked down at him. He was now sitting on the ground and pulling at the grass in frustration. Ziva and McGee exchanged the same bewildered looks. Ziva looked in the direction Gibbs had driven away. "Where did he go?"

"I don't know. He got a call and left."

McGee looked at DiNozzo. "Was it the director?"

DiNozzo shrugged his shoulders. "I hope that's why he left us…STRANDED!" He threw a clump of dirt and folded his arms over his chest like a five year old who couldn't go toy shopping.

Ziva rolled her eyes at his reaction. "Ducky will be here soon."

Tony smirked. "Oh yeah, right…with Palmer driving…it'll be an hour or more. They always get lost."

McGee got on the phone and called Ducky. Ducky answered his phone. "We're on the way. Tell Jethro to be patient, and I have the map…not Palmer."

"No…Ducky, it's not that. Gibbs got a phone call and left us here. Do you think it's the director?"

"It very well could have been. She's past her due date. Continue working. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough if Jenny went into labor."

McGee hung up the phone and looked at Ziva and Tony. "Ducky said it could have been." The agents had no choice but to continue work. They also had to wait on Ducky and Palmer. All three of them prayed that the medical examiner wouldn't misread the map.

Since Gibbs left in a rush, Tony took over the case. He'd be in charge for the rest of the day. It was hard to work wondering if Director Shepard was in labor or not. Gibbs made it to home in record time considering where he'd been. He hurried into the house and saw Jenny sitting on the bottom stair. She looked up at him, holding her stomach and breathing heavily. The contents of her suitcase for the hospital were strewn around her. She had dropped it when a contraction had come over her body, and she was waiting on the next contraction to hit her. "They're getting closer together."

Gibbs knew he shouldn't have left her alone. His gut had been bothering him all morning, but Jen hadn't said a word. He knew she'd been uncomfortable last night from the way she tossed and turned. He looked around at the clothes on the floor as he carefully helped her to her feet. "What happened?"

His question was answered as she doubled over, biting her lip hard and digging her nails into his side. She'd dropped the suitcase. "I'm right here, Jenny," he said, massaging the middle of her back and letting her draw blood on his side if it helped her get through the contraction.

"Oh God, Jethro," she barely said, resting against him. Childbirth was going to be harder and more painful than taking a bullet. At the moment, she'd much rather take a bullet.

"We're going." He walked her out of the house and put her into the car, running into the house to scramble everything back into the suitcase and to lock up the house. He ran back to car and quickly hopped in, putting the car in reverse and pressing the gas. He drove safely to the hospital while also driving like a bat out of hell…normal Gibbs driving.

After being checked out, Jenny was definitely in labor. The baby was coming today. There wouldn't be any inducing happening on Thursday. Gibbs left her side to make a quick phone call to Ducky. "Duck, Jen's in labor. Tell the team. I'll let you know what happens." He hung up and went back to the room to be with her. She was a trooper with the pain and even better after the epidural. Hours and hours passed until it was time for her to push. She was exhausted and couldn't imagine pushing.

"Jethro, I'm tired," she whispered.

"Yeah…well, you never could pace yourself very well," he teased her with a smile.

"I have one word for you, Jethro…Positano," she responded without missing a beat.

"Come on! That was the week after I took a bullet!"

"Uh huh." She nodded her head and kissed him before her legs were put into the stirrups. Within minutes, she was pushing with everything she had left in her. Jen had a wonderful partner to coach her through. He felt like his hand might lose circulation from her grip, but he didn't complain. He only wiped the sweat away from her forehead and encouraged her. Their daughter was being stubborn and not wanting to make her entry into the world. Close to forty-five minutes later, the head was crowning. With one last big push, the baby slipped out of Jen, and crying filled the room. She lay back on the pillows, absolutely worn out. Jethro kissed her forehead.

"You did amazing, Jen. I'm proud of you. I love you."

She nodded her head while catching her breath. "I love you," she told him in a soft voice and listened to the crying, her daughter's crying. Tears began to form in her eyes. She never thought she'd have Jethro back in her life or a child. The nurse suctioned out the infant's nose and mouth before resting her on Jen's stomach, and Jethro cut the cord with the scissors he was given. "Look at her, Jethro." She leaned up and kissed his lips.

He smiled down at the newborn, wiping his eyes. "I am looking at her." He hadn't had this feeling in years, and it felt better than he remembered it. He was a father for a second time. The nurse took the baby from Jen. She needed to be cleaned, weighed, measured, poked, and prodded. He planned on staying with Jen until she looked at him. "Jethro, go with her. Make sure she's safe."

The doctor took care of Jen while Gibbs followed the nurse. The birth went smoothly. No complications at all. She and the baby would be able to go home in two or three days. Their daughter was a healthy, alert newborn that weighed seven pounds and five ounces and was twenty-one inches long. Gibbs watched her from the nursery glass before tapping. The nurse smiled at him and brought the baby out to him. He held her carefully, carrying her down to the room. "Let's go see mommy," he whispered.

The door pushed open, and Jen sat up in bed with a groan. "Let me hold her," she said, beaming with her arms open. Jethro placed their daughter into her mother's arms. Jen took her cautiously, praying she wouldn't hurt her. "Hi," she whispered, kissing the baby's forehead. She touched her daughter's dark auburn hair. "Jethro, I know we didn't discuss names often…but I know what her name should be."

He sat down on the bed, next to Jen and held the baby's hand. "All ears, Jenny."

"Lindsay Jethro."

Gibbs smiled at the mother of his child. "Lindsay Jethro, huh?"

The new mother nodded her head. "She's perfect," Jen whispered, laying her head against his shoulder. "And so tiny…look at her hair…"

"Just like you." He kissed the top of Jen's head. "You need to rest so does she."

Jen nodded her head and stopped him from taking Lindsay from her. "Let her stay, please." He nodded his head and understood. Before he left the room, both of his girls were fast asleep. He made a phone call to Ducky.

"Jethro, how are they?"

"Perfect, Duck. Jen's exhausted and sleeping."

"And my goddaughter?"

Gibbs smiled. He couldn't help do anything but smile. "Lindsay Jethro Gibbs is sleeping in the nursery. She weighed in at seven pounds five ounces and was twenty-one inches long. She looks like Jenny. She's beautiful."

"Wonderful. When are they coming home?"

"Probably a day or two. Let Abs, Tony, McGee, and Ziva know. Thanks, Duck." He hung up the phone and went back to the room to sit with Jen. A nurse brought a bassinet in for the newborn, but she had taken the child back to the nursery. Both parents needed their rest. He didn't bother getting a cup of coffee. The smell would wake Jen up, and she desperately needed the sleep. He fell asleep for a few hours in the chair. When he awoke, Jen was still sleeping soundly. After over sixteen hours of labor, she deserved to sleep. Coffee was a must for him, and he left to get coffee from the cafeteria. While he was away, Jen woke up and rubbed her eyes. She buzzed a nurse to bring Lindsay to her. Gibbs smiled when he came back into the room. Jen was sitting up in bed and holding their daughter, letting her have her first feeding.

"Hey," she said softly to him as he walked over to her.

"How long you been awake?" he asked.

"Not long." She stroked the baby's cheek tenderly.

"I knew you'd be a natural. You were always a fast learner."

She smiled softly at him. "Thank you, Jethro." She burped the baby and held her. "Wait until you meet the rest of the family," she spoke to Lindsay as she squirmed in her arms.

Gibbs chuckled at the thought and watched his little girl. "I told Ducky to tell them, and they know to hold off until you and Lindsay get settled in at home."

Jenny nodded her head, rubbing her little girl's back as she adjusted the baby to her shoulder. "I can't wait to get out of here. I hate hospitals."

"You'll go home in a day or two, Jen."

"Jethro, I want her to stay in here…with us."

"I know. A bassinet is in here for her," he said, taking Lindsay from her. He sat down with her, letting her fall asleep in his arms. The new mother fell back to sleep. She couldn't wait to be at home with Jethro and Lindsay even though she wasn't sure if she was going to cut it as a mother.


	9. Chapter 9

Mother and daughter were discharged from the hospital on Thursday. Jen hated being pushed out in a wheelchair. She wanted to walk out of the hospital. The nurse had wanted to send her out on a stretcher until Jethro intervened. Jen sighed softly and smiled down at her daughter, stroking her face. Lindsay was sleeping in her arms, wearing a simple pink onesie along with a matching beanie and swaddled in a blanket. At the car, Gibbs opened the passenger door and took Lindsay, feeling uneasy about the task of getting her into the car seat. It had been years since he'd done the task. He let out a sigh of relief when the infant didn't wake up as she was taken out of her mother's arms. "Jen, wait. I'll help you into the car."

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. Once he turned and had all attention on Lindsay, she stood up from the wheelchair and took her spot in the passenger seat. Gibbs smirked, knowing Jen wouldn't listen. As soon as he put Lindsay into the seat, the crying began. "It's okay, Linds. There," he said, finishing buckling and making sure she was secure. "You're all in." He kissed the baby's forehead and closed the door, getting into the driver's seat a few minutes later.

Jen turned in the passenger seat to stop the last few cries from Lindsay. "It's okay. You're okay. Go back to sleep, please," she spoke softly, trying her best to sound soothing. Obviously, it had worked because Lindsay stopped crying and fell back to sleep which left Jen surprised. She hadn't thought she sounded calming. She felt Jethro's eyes on her and turned back in her seat to return the gaze. He noticed the surprise on her face, and he looked genuinely amused. "What?" she asked, buckling her seatbelt.

"You," he said simply.

"What about me?"

"You don't have to try."

"Try what, Jethro?" If he gave her another cryptic answer, she might hurt him. She was feeling intimidated by the idea of taking their daughter home, and that wasn't agreeing with her temper.

"To be soothing, Jen. She already knows your voice and loves it as much as I do…if not more," he answered softly and took her hand, kissing it.

She smiled at him and laced her fingers with his, kissing his hand. The two of them held hands on the drive and looked back at the baby every few minutes. Jethro drove home safely and five miles under the speed limit. He had precious cargo in the back.

At home, Jen carried the pink bundle into the house after getting her out of the car seat. "I feel like I need to relearn how to walk," she grumbled as she grimaced, still sore from childbirth. Gibbs smirked in amusement at her comment. He carried the car seat, diaper bag, and suitcase into the house while Jen carried Lindsay up to the nursery and put her down. On the way out, she turned on the baby monitor. She stopped in the middle of the hall as she heard the crying. With a sigh, she walked back into the nursery and lifted her daughter up. "What is it, huh?" she asked, holding her close. The crying eased as soon as Lindsay settled against her mother's chest. "I'm better than the crib," Jen thought and walked out of the nursery. Jethro looked at her as she came into the bedroom.

"Couldn't put her down?"

"I did, but she cried. Here we are," she told him, getting into bed and adjusting the baby. Lindsay grunted softly and looked around, taking in her surroundings.

"Still want a bubble bath?" he asked heading towards the bathroom.

"God, yes," Jen answered when she felt nudging and heard a frustrated soft grunt that would be followed by a cry. She sighed softly and fixed herself in order to feed the baby, watching her latch on easily. "You do not need an appetite like DiNozzo." Lindsay had eaten over an hour ago.

Jethro emerged from the bathroom. He had the water running for the bath and had put in her favorite bubbles and bath salts. He stopped and stared at the scene before him. His mind faded back to the day he brought Shannon and Kelly home from the hospital. Shannon hadn't been able to put Kelly down and brought her into their bedroom. He'd done the same thing for Shannon as he had for Jenny. Now, she was doing the same thing Shannon had done.

Jenny looked up from the baby when she heard him come out of the bathroom, but he hadn't said anything. She studied his face, swallowing hard at the expression in his eyes. All she saw was a blending of hurt, pain, and happiness. She held onto her daughter's hand and tried not to cry. She should have known Jethro would have flashbacks. "Jethro..." she finally spoke after composing herself.

He shook himself out of his memory and cleared his throat. "Bath is running," he said, walking over to the bed. He bent down and kissed her forehead. "I'll let you have time alone." Before he could walk away, she grasped his arm firmly and prevented him from leaving the room.

"Jethro, you can say it," she said. He turned and looked at her, knowing he should have known better. He'd rarely ever been able to get anything by her. "You need time alone," she finished.

He sighed heavily. If he had time alone, it would involve a bottle of bourbon. He didn't need to drink not when two people needed him. He had hoped it would be easier to let go of the past since the future held promise. He couldn't stop the memories from happening. Something would always be there to remind him. "Jen, I…"

She put her hand over his mouth. "Don't say it. You have nothing to be sorry about. Tell me what you were remembering," she requested, moving Lindsay to her shoulder to burp her.

"When Shannon and I brought Kelly home, she didn't want to be put down either. Shannon brought her into our room while I ran her a bath. She nursed Kelly while waiting," he explained, realizing how ironic time could be.

Jen nodded her head silently and listened to the tiny burp come from Lindsay. "What happened after?"

"I took care of Kelly, and Shannon took a bath."

"Let's make our own memory," she responded and carefully slid out of bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked and looked utterly confused.

"I'm going to relax in a bubble bath and take Lindsay with me. You can join us if you want," she told him, passing the baby over to him. "Hold her until I get settled."

He opened his mouth to speak but closed it quickly, watching as Jen shed her clothing on the way to the bathroom. She might not care for the way her body looked, but he found her even more beautiful. She was also right about them needing to make their own memories. He knew she would stand by him and be there for him if the memories became too much for him to take. With her there, however, he would be fine.

"Coming, Jethro?" she asked before removing her bra and tossing it.

He slowly nodded his head and looked down at Lindsay. "If you have a body like hers, you're never dating. End of story." He followed into the bathroom, giving Lindsay back to her mother and undressing except for his boxers.

Lindsay snuggled into her mother's chest, feeling the warmth and listening to the steady rhythm of her heartbeat. She drew her arms into her small body and watched her father then listened to her mother's voice. "Jethro, why aren't you…" Jen stopped the question once she realized why as he looked embarrassed. Skin to skin contact with her would drive him up the hall as Ziva would say.

He got into the tub behind Jen and put his arms around her once she settled back against his chest. He kissed the baby's head and shifted when Jen moved to get more comfortable.

"I didn't mean to...you know," she said.

"It's fine, but if you keep moving," he warned.

She grinned. "Jethro, I can't be that tempting after having a baby two days ago."

"You have no idea how tempting you are, Jen." He realized how much of a torture the upcoming six weeks were going to be for him. He hadn't ever been able to resist her or keep his hands away from her.

"I'll do my best not to tempt you."

He smirked. "Right."

She pinched his thigh and smiled when he yelped. "Shut up and hand me a sponge."

He handed over a sponge and watched her give Lindsay a sponge bath. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"For what?"

"Giving me a second chance to be a father."

"You're welcome. I have to thank you also."

"For?"

"Giving me the opportunity to be a mother."

He kissed the back of her head. "You're welcome."

"I can't believe we created her. She's you and me." She stroked the back of her daughter's head.

"She'll be the best parts of you and me, Jen."

"With us as her parents, there's not a chance in hell she won't be stubborn or have a temper."

"Those aren't good parts?" He chucked softly.

She rolled her eyes at him and rested against him more, enjoying the quiet and being at home. He was beginning to turn into a prune after some time and was ready to get out. He nudged Jen, and she leaned up to give him access out of the tub. He threw a towel around his waist and walked out of the bathroom. He quickly dried off and threw on a pair of plaid pajama pants, walking back into the bathroom and taking Lindsay from Jen. "I'll get her changed and dressed."

She nodded her head, adding more warm water and bubbles to the bath. "I need a few more minutes." She would stay in a bubble bath all day if she could.

"I know," he told her, wrapping Lindsay up in a towel and carrying her out of the bathroom. He hoped the baby didn't wake up as he was putting a diaper on and dressing her. He carried her into the nursery and placed her on the changing table. She squirmed and opened her eyes briefly before falling back to sleep. He laughed softly. "You'll be a coffee drinker." She slept through the diaper and clothes being put on. He sat down in the glider with her, watching her sleep.

An hour later, Jen was out of the bubble bath and in her robe. She let out a comfortable sigh and realized the house was quiet. She tiptoed out of the bedroom and into the nursery, smiling at the sight. Jethro had fallen asleep in the glider with Lindsay on his bare chest. She couldn't help darting across the hall and into her closet to dig out the camera. She found it and hurriedly ran back to the nursery to snap the photograph. She moved closer and snapped the moment a few more times before returning the camera to its place in the closet. Moments later, she returned and shook Jethro's shoulder, kissing on his forehead. "Jethro."

He mumbled and opened his eyes. "Yeah?"

"You fell asleep."

He nodded and looked around. "How long?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not sure. I just got out of the bath." She gently removed Lindsay from him and cradled the newborn against her. The infant stretched out and hiccupped softly which Jen thought might have been the cutest thing ever.

Jethro kissed Jen's cheek on his way out of the nursery. "I need coffee," he stated simply but made a detour to the bedroom to grab a t-shirt.

She watched him leave the nursery and laughed softly when Lindsay hiccupped a second time. "Does my baby have the hiccups? I can't scare you or tell you to hold your breath," she told her, walking around the room with her. Lindsay turned her head slightly at the sound of a cell phone ringing. Jen carried her into the bedroom and answered her phone.

"Hello."

"Jennifer, how are things at home?" Ducky asked.

"They're going well so far." She was still curious as to how the first night at home with Lindsay would go for them.

"How's Lindsay?"

"She has the hiccups."

"Perfectly normal. I imagine they are rather cute," Ducky said.

Jen laughed softly. "They are adorable," she admitted, looking at her daughter. Lindsay had a firm grip on her mother's finger then sneezed. "Oh goodness, Linds," she said in a baby voice then realized what she had done. Thankfully, she was on the phone with Ducky and not anyone else like DiNozzo.

Ducky tried not to comment on the change in the director's voice as she talked to the baby. He cleared his throat. "How's the new father?"

"Jethro's fine. He's downstairs in the kitchen making coffee."

"Well, I wanted to check up on the three of you. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

"We won't. Thank you, Ducky," she said, hanging up the phone and throwing it onto the bed. She checked Lindsay's diaper and made a face. It needed to be changed. "You're only supposed to do that when your father is holding you." Lindsay only focused on her face and gurgled. "You think it's funny? If you could smirk, I'm sure you'd be smirking," she mumbled and went into the nursery to change the diaper. After it was changed, she joined Jethro in the kitchen.

"Who called?" he asked, sipping his coffee.

"Ducky. He wanted to check on us."

"And?"

"I told him we were all fine." She walked closer to him, needing to inhale the smell of the coffee. He offered her a sip, and she gladly took it. "I could kiss you."

"What are you waiting for?"

She smirked and kissed him on the lips. They moved apart when Lindsay started crying.

"Diaper?"

"No, it's been changed. She's not hungry. I've learned that one," Jen informed him, moving the crying infant to her shoulder. "Maybe she's restless?" She rubbed her daughter's back, and the crying didn't stop. Lots of walking around the house and twenty minutes later, the crying hadn't stopped or eased up. Jen was about to be at her wit's end when she decided it was Jethro's turn. She fell onto the couch after handing over the baby.

He took Lindsay and held her against his chest. He walked through every hall downstairs, and the crying echoed throughout the house. "Maybe we need fresh air," he told Lindsay and walked into the backyard. After several minutes of being outside, she quieted, and he entered the house. Jen came out of the den when she realized their daughter wasn't crying anymore.

"How did you get her to stop?" she asked, puzzled and amazed by him at the same time.

"I didn't. She had gas."

"Oh," Jen said as he brushed by her. "What are you going to do now?"

"Put her in the nursery."

She watched him go up the stairs. The day so far had been a learning experience, and she knew the night would be full of surprises and new learning experiences for the both of them. She went upstairs to change and take a nap, knowing she needed to sleep while she could. Jethro was more than capable of taking care of Lindsay by himself while she slept. The next day would most likely be filled with visitors. Lindsay would get to meet the rest of her family.


	10. Chapter 10

The first night at home with Lindsay had been an interesting and draining experience. Lindsay's sleep schedule was unquestionably different from her parents, and her father barely kept a sleep schedule. She woke up like clockwork every two hours, and it was a miracle if she was back to sleep within an hour or less. Jethro had done as much as he could during the night with the baby. He was limited in how much he could do considering Jen was breastfeeding. If he could handle the problem, he still somehow woke Jen up if she wasn't previously awake from hearing her daughter's cries. Jenny lay in bed and listened to the constant sound of the crying that she'd loved hearing after the birth. Right now, she wasn't fond of the crying. She slipped out of bed with a groan and crossed the hall into the nursery where Jethro was walking around and trying to console their restless, cranky daughter. He stopped, thinking the crying had finally stopped and knowing Jen was in the room. She came up behind him, laying herself against his back and easing her arms around his waist.

"Go back to bed. I'll take care of her," she told him, not much above a whisper.

He shook his head and sighed as the crying picked up its pace. "I got her." He didn't have her. He needed a break but couldn't and wouldn't tell Jen that.

"Jethro, she's still crying." The crying had started after 0330 and had slowed in bursts but remained constant as the sun began to rise. She let go of him and eased their daughter from him, kissing on her. "What's the matter, baby? I know…it's awful not being able to drink coffee."

Jethro smirked at her in amusement and yawned. He would deny being tired if asked. He wasn't worried about being sleep deprived, but Jen needed sleep more than him. She had the more normal sleep pattern. Plus, she would be grouchy as hell with little sleep and no coffee. He watched her sit down in the glider and get ready to nurse the infant. He walked out of the room and downstairs to put on a pot of coffee.

The crying slowed considerably once Lindsay felt the skin to skin contact with her mother. She began to nurse and placed her tiny hand against her mother's chest. Jen smiled softly and watched her. She never thought being a mother was a natural thing for her to do, but it was surprisingly natural. "You just wanted me, didn't you?" she asked, stroking her little girl's foot and laughing when she moved it away. After the feeding and a diaper change, Jen carried Lindsay into the master bedroom and put her into bed with her. She cradled her against her and moved pillows to make space for the infant. The both of them were back to sleep within minutes. Jethro had watched from the door and finished drinking his cup of coffee, getting into bed with his girls moments later.

After being put into bed with her parents, Lindsay slept for a solid four hours which was appreciated by her parents. Jenny was grateful for the four hours of sleep so was Jethro. Between the two of them, they had nine hours of sleep. The morning routine had changed with the baby. Jethro took care of Lindsay while Jenny took her shower, dressed, and put on her make-up.

"It's a miracle what make-up can do," she told him, walking out of the bathroom. She felt more awake after a long shower and like a real person doing her hair and make-up.

He smirked. "You look beautiful without it," he answered honestly as he listened to the baby monitor. The baby was asleep in the crib and had been in there for fifteen minutes.

"Did you see under my eyes?"

He decided not to answer that question and opted to kiss her instead. She melted into his kiss before pulling away when she felt his hands roam. "Jen," he said her name with a groan and annoyance. He had wanted more of her.

"Don't Jen me. You started that, and we can't. I know your love for rules and authority, but Jethro…we are following the six week rule unless we get clearance before from Dr. Anderson. Got it?" She hadn't lost the director tone even though it hadn't been used in weeks.

He mumbled, and she frowned at the beginning signs of him pouting. She sighed and ran her hands through his silver hair, looking him in the eyes. "Don't you dare pout, Jethro. Haven't I always taken care of you?"

A typical smirk graced his features as he thought back to the week after he'd taken a bullet in Positano. She had taken care of him in numerous ways. "Well…yeah, but I want…"

She placed her index finger over his lips, hushing him. "Later," she promised with a kiss to his cheek. She left the room but stopped at the door. "Get ready and take your shower."

"A cold one," he mumbled.

"I heard that!"

He continued muttering under his breath as he walked towards the bathroom to take his shower. His time to get ready was much shorter than the time of his better half. As she walked out of the nursery with a baby monitor in her hand, Jen was thankful to hear Noemi enter the house. Noemi put her things down quickly and appeared in the study, surprised not to find Jenny there.

"Senora?"

"Right here," Jen called from the stairs. Noemi came up the stairs and quickly walked by her and into the nursery. She wanted to see baby and fuss over the child. She smiled softly, looking into the crib. "Miss Jenny, she's precious and looks like you."

"Thank you, Noemi," Jen replied, leaning against the doorframe of the nursery.

Noemi leaned over the crib and fixed the baby's blanket. "Maybe she won't have Senor Gibbs' disposition. I'll make breakfast. Anything special?"

"French toast for me, please. You know what Jethro wants. I'd like a small cup of coffee before you get too busy."

Noemi nodded her head left the nursery with Jen behind her. She went into the kitchen and brought the cup of coffee to her employer in the den. Jen thanked her and enjoyed the first sip of coffee. Noemi patted her shoulder and left to make breakfast. She never knew what Jenny wanted for breakfast, but Gibbs never changed with his request, two eggs scrambled with bacon and toast. After breakfast, the rest of the day went by smoothly until Jethro's cell began ringing. It was Ducky informing him that he, Abby, and Ziva would be over during their lunch hour. The couple had breakfast and was grateful that Lindsay didn't make her presence known as she had hours earlier.

Ducky was the first to arrive and grinned at Jethro when he opened the door. The doctor was beside himself with happiness. Two of his favorite people had finally gotten themselves together and were happy. The unplanned pregnancy had been the push they needed.

"Jethro, I brought Cuban cigars. I got these years ago when I did the autopsy on a Cuban official. I'd been saving them for a special occasion," he relayed the story as he stepped inside.

"We'll smoke those later. Put them in the study, Duck."

The doctor put the Cuban cigars in the study and came back out, smiling at Jenny as she came down the stairs with the baby. "Jenny, you look lovely. I've never seen you more beautiful than you are now."

She smiled, blushing softly. "Thank you, Ducky."

"Let me see her," Ducky gently demanded and took his goddaughter. "My dear…you look like your mother." Lindsay was awake, her bright blue eyes focusing on the older man's face.

Gibbs slipped his arm around Jenny and watched Ducky with the baby. "She'll be so spoiled," she realized aloud.

"By everyone." Gibbs kissed the side of her head. He opened the door for Abby and Ziva after Ducky, Jenny, and baby relocated to the den.

Abby hugged Gibbs tightly. "Where's the baby? I have a gift for her!" She squealed with excitement. Everyone thought they were going to have to put Abby on lockdown to prevent her from going to the hospital to see the Gibblet. She had been itching with impatience to see the new parents and baby.

"Abs, not so loud…let her get used to you. She's only three days old."

"Oh, right…sorry," Abby apologized. Ziva nodded her head in greeting to Gibbs and hugged him. Abby had forced her to come and see the baby. Ziva was excited for Jenny and Gibbs, but she wasn't used to being around infants.

"The baby's with Ducky and Jen." Gibbs kissed Abby's cheek since she hadn't moved and was pointing to her cheek. He led the two women to the den where Ducky was sitting on the sofa next to Jen.

As soon as Jen saw Abby, she smiled at her. She missed seeing everyone on a daily basis. "Abby, I hate to ask…but how many Caff-Pows have you had?" She smiled at Ziva who had laughed at the question about the forensic scientist's drink of choice.

"Oh, not many…director," she paused, seeing the look on Jen's face. "I've had six. I'll be fine," she promised, sitting down next to her. "I don't have to hold her. I can just look."

Ziva sat safely across from Jenny, Abby, Ducky, and the Gibblet. Tony had told her the baby would most likely spit up, and they might ask her to baby sit. In her nervous state, she believed him.

Jenny laughed softly and took the baby from Ducky. "This is Abby, Lindsay. Abby meet Lindsay." Gibbs leaned against the doorway and glanced at Ziva. He could tell she was nervous about being around a newborn. He motioned to Ducky, and the two of them left to go smoke the cigars.

Abby smiled and let out a long aww sound. "She's adorable and such a little Gibblet. I have a gift for her." Abby put the black gift bag in her lap. "I'll open it since you have your hands full." She opened the gift and showed it off, a black onesie with devil's horns that said little devil.

"Thank you, Abby."

"You're welcome."

"Do you want to hold her?"

"I…are you sure? I don't hold babies all the time. She's so tiny too. It's been years, and she's a very important baby and…"

"Abby, I didn't either until her. You'll be fine." Jen put the baby into Abby's arms. Abby took a deep gulp especially since Lindsay was squirming around and beginning to cry softly. Lindsay had been perfectly content in her mother's arms.

"Okay, calm down, please. I'll teach you all sorts of cool stuff when you're older. You can even dress like me if you want," she told the baby and glanced at Jenny. "…or you won't dress like me."

Jenny and Ziva both laughed. Lindsay stopped squirming once she became comfortable. Jenny reached over and fixed her blanket. Abby caught a peek at the baby's onesie and giggled. "That's so true." Lindsay was dressed in a onsie that said "Don't mess with me. My mommy's the Director of NCIS." Gibbs had it made especially for her. Abby managed to hold the baby for over twenty minutes until crying started. Quickly, she was handed back over to her mother. Jenny took her and kissed her forehead. "We'll be back," she told Abby and Ziva, standing up and leaving the room.

"Where are they going?" Ziva asked, looking curious.

"It's probably feeding time or diaper change time or both," Abby said, looking around the room. She walked over to the fireplace and noticed photos of Gibbs and Jenny from years ago. "Ziva, look at these," she said, motioning her over.

Ziva got up from her seat and walked over to stand next to Abby. She smiled at the pictures. There were pictures from Paris and other locations in Europe. There was a photo of them with Ducky. The three of them felt like those pictures were taken a lifetime ago. Abby put one framed picture back and found her way out to the backyard, leaving Ziva in the room. Abby was surprised by the backyard. It was rather large for a home in Georgetown and neatly landscaped. Ducky and Gibbs were smoking the Cuban cigars and drinking bourbon.

Gibbs looked at Abby. "What did you think, Abs?"

"We can keep the Gibblet."

He laughed and motioned for her to sit down. "Did you leave Ziva in there?"

"Yeah…but the director left us. The baby started crying, and she left the room," Abby answered. In reply, Gibbs nodded his head. He assumed Lindsay needed a diaper change, and he'd hear about that later.

Ziva looked around the den a few more minutes before deciding to go up the stairs. She quietly entered the nursery and watched Jen as she changed a diaper.

"Ziva, she doesn't bite," Jen said softly, buttoning the snaps on the onesie and lifting the baby up.

"She doesn't have teeth. Yes?"

Jen laughed silently and kissed her daughter's head, walking over to Ziva. "None yet. I won't ask you to hold her if you don't want to."

Ziva let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. "She's a beautiful baby," she said, touching the baby's back softly but pulling her hand away when she moved.

"Are Tony and McGee coming today?"

Ziva shrugged her shoulders. "We all wanted to visit, but Vance wouldn't let Tony and McGee leave. The only way Abby and I are here is we told him we had important appointments that couldn't be rescheduled."

Jen nodded her head, sighing that her agents were not able to do what they wanted. She could sense that Ziva didn't care for Assistant Director Vance. If Ziva didn't care for him, no one else did either. "Come on," she said, leaving the room. Ziva followed behind her and turned off the light. She couldn't help but smile at Lindsay.

The pair walked out to the backyard. The cigars were finished, but the smell of the smoke still hung in the air. Gibbs walked over to Jen and kissed her cheek. "Everything okay?"

She nodded her head, giving the baby to him. "Tell Daddy he smells like Cuban cigars and bourbon."

Lindsay stretched out in his arms and gurgled. Ducky smiled softly, watching Jethro with his daughter. It appeared a huge weight had been lifted from his dear friend. He was more relaxed and calm. The group sat outside chatting until Ducky and Ziva's phones began ringing. Both of them answered. Ducky hung up and sighed heavily.

"We have to go. There's a body for me and a case for Ziva. I'm sure there will be evidence for you, Abigail," he told, getting up from his seat.

"I don't want to leave," Abby admitted. "I don't want to go back to work. I want to stay with Gibbs, the director, and the Gibblet."

Jen couldn't hide her pleased smile. There was her answer. Abby hated Vance. The forensic scientist always wanted to go into work…no matter what the hour. Jethro put his hand over Abby's and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Abs, you have to go. If you want to come back by, you're more than welcome."

She was silent a few minutes and finally nodded her head. "Thanks, Gibbs." She stood up and followed Ducky and Ziva inside. Jen and Jethro followed behind them with Lindsay in tow. There were hugs and goodbyes at the front door. A case happening was for the best. Lindsay was not up to entertaining more visitors because she had fallen asleep comfortably and safely in her father's arms.


	11. Chapter 11

On Saturday, Tony and McGee were able to visit the Gibblet. The senior agent and the probie arrived at 1030. Jen answered the door, greeting them with a smile. She hated to admit she missed them. She even missed DiNozzo's antics. "Hey. Come on in," she told them, moving to the side to let them in.

Tony hugged her followed by McGee then they stepped inside. She was surprised by the tightness of their hugs. The two men followed her straight ahead into the study. DiNozzo and McGee were taken aback by the sight of Leroy Jethro Gibbs holding a baby and giving her a bottle. They were used to seeing him hold a coffee cup. However, Lindsay seemed to be content with the atmosphere of the study but not with the bottle.

Gibbs looked up from Lindsay after sensing the stares. "What are you two lookin' at?"

"Nothin' boss." Tony cleared his throat and hit McGee upside the head. The less than senior agent was still staring.

After the jolt to the back of the head, McGee snapped out of it and shook his head. "Sorry, boss."

They took a seat on the sofa. Tony moved a pillow out of his way and looked at Gibbs. "Boss, I know how you are about apologies, but I do accept your unspoken apology for leaving us at the scene."

Gibbs spied the agent with a mild glare. "DiNozzo, I didn't apologize…spoken or unspoken. It's a sign of weakness."

"Oh…then forget I said anything."

Jen looked at the two men with a raised eyebrow. "Jethro, why did you leave them at the scene?"

Gibbs couldn't believe she was asking. After all, she had been the reason he'd left. "Jen, you called me."

"Oh, sorry…I'm still a little tired."

Tony looked at her, trying not to seem too amused. "Long night?" He had wondered how they had been handling taking care of the baby and being sleep deprived.

She nodded her head. "Someone was cranky last night, and it wasn't Jethro thankfully." She caught the smirk he gave her but ignored it. "Can I get you boys anything?" She asked Tony and McGee as she stood up. She knew Jethro needed a coffee refill. He had been up since 0500 with Lindsay. He took over, so she could sleep for a few hours. Before he took over, she had been up and down all night with Lindsay.

McGee shook his head. "No thank you, ma'am."

Tony looked at her as she waited for his answer. "Got any cereal?"

Jen chuckled silently. She should have known he'd want food considering it was close to lunch time. "I think so, Tony. You know where the kitchen is…go in and fix it yourself."

Tony followed her into the kitchen, leaving McGee with Gibbs. Gibbs put the bottle down and shifted the baby to his shoulder to burp her. McGee made a face when he heard the sound of a burp followed by the noise of spit up.

"McGee, it's what they do," Gibbs said to him. "Now, my reaction isn't the same as Jen's when Lindsay spits up. You should see that."

McGee laughed. He couldn't imagine anything unsettling Jennifer Shepard. Apparently, a baby spitting up did unsettle her. The two of them talked quietly. McGee caught him up on what he'd missed.

In the kitchen, DiNozzo poked and prodded in the pantry to find cereal. Jen had told him there were Lucky Charms somewhere in there. She rarely did the grocery shopping, so she wasn't sure where anything was within the pantry. Noemi took care of making sure the house had groceries. She left DiNozzo and took the coffee to Jethro in the study.

Tony found the box of Lucky Charms after a few minutes of thinking like a box of cereal. "Oh yes, you're mine," he spoke to the box of Lucky Charms. He found a bowl, spoon, and grabbed a container of milk from the fridge. He made his bowl of cereal and walked into the study, taking his first bite. "This milk tastes funny," he commented, twisting his face. He should have checked the expiration date.

Gibbs and Jen exchanged a look. Jen turned in her seat and looked at DiNozzo. "Tony, I think you might have gotten the wrong…milk."

He looked confused. "Wrong milk?" He surveyed the faces and looked at Gibbs. The older man was trying his best not to laugh, but Tony was still confused as to what milk he had poured into the bowl. He looked at Jen who had an amused yet very apologetic expression on her face.

"I'm breastfeeding, but Lindsay's on the bottle today," she informed the agent.

"Oh..." His eyes widened in realization that the milk he used had been very wrong to put into a bowl of cereal. Milk that had come from the director's breasts is what he'd poured into the cereal bowl, and as the realization hit him harder his eyes could have popped out of their sockets. He quickly ran out of the study and to the kitchen sink to spit and wash out his mouth. He definitely regretted swallowing that mouthful of Lucky Charms. From the kitchen, he heard the room erupting with laughter. He came back, looking thoroughly embarrassed and now knowing he didn't care for breast milk.

"Good job, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, still chuckling.

Tony sat down and mumbled, noticing the look on McGee's face. "Shut up, Probie. Don't you dare say a word or I'll…"

"What, Tony?"

"I'll tell Abby about the time you..."

McGee's eyes widened. "You wouldn't!"

Tony grinned, knowing McGee wouldn't say a word. Gibbs eyed them suspiciously but shrugged it off. He probably didn't want to know what Tony had on McGee especially if it concerned Abby.

Jenny laughed as much as she hated to find the incident comical. "Tony, I'm sorry. I didn't think about that. Do you want another bowl of cereal?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm slightly turned off by cereal. Thanks, anyway," he said, unable to look at her.

Gibbs stood up and walked over, putting the baby into Tony's arms. "Boss, what are you doing?" He received no answer and held the Gibblet awkwardly. At least, he was holding her head.

"DiNozzo, hold her…like a football," Gibbs instructed.

"Right…like a football. Last time I checked…footballs didn't cry!"

Gibbs smacked him in the head and sat back down. Tony listened and cradled her like a quarterback would a football. Lindsay settled down after getting comfortable and looked at him. "Okay…not so bad…so far so good. Hey, she's pretty cute."

"Did you think she wouldn't be?" Jen asked.

"Oh no, I knew she'd be cute. If Gibbs wasn't her father, I'd date her in twenty years."

"Never more than once, DiNozzo. Besides, you'd have to worry about what her mother would think too."

DiNozzo swallowed hard and adjusted the infant in his hold. He glanced at Jenny. She sat with her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side and giving him a cold look.

"What I meant to say was that she's cute…but I'd never date her. That was what I meant to say…" He trailed off and looked down, not wanting to find out if he was still getting a look from those cold green eyes.

Jen eased her glare. "That's better. You wouldn't date my daughter…ever."

Over the next hour, Tony and McGee became acquainted with Lindsay while catching Jen up on what she had missed. She easily got the scoop on how Gibbs had been as acting director and their opinions of Vance. Of course, the scoop didn't occur until Gibbs left to pick up lunch.

"I don't think boss liked being in your heels," Tony said to her.

Jenny laughed softly. "Of course, he didn't. There are more rules and paperwork with my job."

Tony adjusted the baby to his shoulder as she started to cry. He patted her back gently then stopped. His face twisted a second time, and he stopped rubbing Lindsay's back.

Jen got up and took the baby from him. "Did you spit up on DiNozzo? Good girl."

Tony mumbled and left the room to clean himself up. McGee watched the director, noticing a different side of her.

"Are you looking forward to coming back?" he asked.

"Some days I am," she answered honestly. She wasn't sure how she'd feeling returning to NCIS. She hadn't thought about the agency since Lindsay's birth. Her child was her focus for now. Still, she wouldn't quit her job as Director of NCIS. It was much too important to her. She still had things left to prove.

"Some days?"

"I didn't know what to do with myself at the beginning of my leave," she told him, sitting down with the baby and wiping her tiny mouth. "I haven't worried about NCIS since having Lindsay. I don't want to miss anything that she does."

McGee nodded his head in understanding but hoped she'd come back. "You have to come back. It's not the same without you being director."

She looked into his eyes and smiled, nodding her head. "Thank you, McGee. Don't worry…I'll come back. I promise."

He nodded his head and relaxed. She wasn't a woman that broke promises. Both of them heard Gibbs return with lunch. Gibbs saw Tony coming out of the bathroom and laughed at him as he wiped his shirt. Everyone ate lunch in the kitchen. Shortly after lunch, McGee and Tony left to give the couple some alone time. Jen and Jethro went upstairs to sleep as long as Lindsay would allow them. She was nestled in between them in the bed.

Over the next weeks, the new parents were incredibly sleep deprived and almost fully adjusted to their daughter's schedule. Jenny felt like a walking zombie most days. Some nights, Lindsay was content to be taken care of by her father. Other nights, she only wanted to be held and soothed by her mother. She was a demanding personality. Jethro had returned to work, and Jen would be back in her office later in the week. It was very different taking care of Lindsay without him. She couldn't imagine being a single mother. She had Noemi's help, but it wasn't the same as Jethro's help. Lindsay had been grouchy the whole day.

Lindsay finally calmed down after a warm bath, feeding, diaper change, and outfit change. Gibbs came home early after a phone call from Noemi. He quietly entered the nursery and watched his girls sleep before walking over to wake Jen. With the way she had fallen asleep in the glider her neck would definitely have a crick. "Jen, I'll take care of her. Go get in bed."

Jen mumbled, "She's fine."

"Jen, go get into bed," he ordered gently yet firmly. She didn't need to be stubborn.

She opened her eyes and looked at him, sleep still plaguing her eyes. "You're home?"

He nodded his head, kissing her forehead. "I am." He took the baby from her carefully, not waking her and waited for Jen to get up from the chair. She stumbled off across the hall and dropped into bed, immediately falling back asleep. She awoke hours later to the sound of the shower running and singing. She sat up and rubbed her face, looking around.

"Oh god," she muttered, looking at the clock and realizing Jethro was the source of the singing. He didn't need to quit his job and become a singer. It was nearly seven o'clock. She lay back against the pillows and smirked at his song choice. Minutes later, she pulled herself out of bed and walked to the bathroom doorway, leaning against the frame.

"Jennnnnnny…I got your number…IIIIIIIIIII need to make you miiiiiine…Jennnnnnnnny, don't change your number…8-6-7-5-3-0-9…" he sang, loudly and slightly off key.

She smirked and walked over, opening the shower door quickly. "Jethro!"

He jumped and couldn't believe she'd caught him off guard. He looked at her innocently. "Yeah, Jenny? I didn't know you were awake."

"Obviously. Why are you singing that song?" She hated the song for many reasons.

"You know, it's one of my favorites." He grinned at her and continued singing. "For a goooood time, caaaaaaaaaaaalll…8-6-7-5-3-0-9…"

"JETHRO!" She shrieked at him. That line was the one she hated the most.

He laughed and leaned out of the shower, kissing her deeply.

"You're a terrible singer," she teased, returning the kiss. He pulled her into the shower, continuing to kiss her. The water soaked her clothes, but she didn't care. They could only do so much in the shower, but they did enough to each other. At least, Jen did most of the work. She came back up, kissing his chest and neck.

"Damn, Jen…" he panted.

She grinned at him as he recovered. She knew she was good and didn't have to be told.

"And to think I didn't have to pick up the phone for that good time."

She punched him in the shoulder and glared before removing her wet clothes. If she was in the shower, she might as well take one. She took her sponge and body wash, beginning to wash her body.

"Jennnnnnnnny, I got your number. I neeeeed to make you mine…" he began singing but stopped as her fist landed into his shoulder a second time.

"Shut up, Jethro," she said sharply, shoving her bottle of shampoo at him. "Besides, you do have me." She stepped under the water and hoped he would shut up with his singing.

"Just because you don't like that song doesn't mean I…shutting up now, Jen." He put a small amount of shampoo into his hands and massaged it into her scalp. She rinsed the shampoo out of her hair, and the process was repeated with the conditioner. Jethro smacked her butt when she stepped out of the shower. She smirked at him over her shoulder, grabbed a towel to wrap her hair in, and put on her robe. She brushed her teeth, rinsed her mouth, and left to check on the baby while Jethro turned the water off. She shook her head gently as she entered the nursery. He had probably planned the whole shower incident. Her thoughts vanished and a smile overtook her face as she heard noise from the crib.

"Someone's awake," she whispered, touching Lindsay's cheek. Lindsay stared up at her, recognizing her voice. Quickly, Jen recognized the face and movements that meant there would be crying if her daughter wasn't in her arms. She lifted her up gently, letting Lindsay's head rest against her chest. "At least, you can't sing yet," she whispered, kissing the infant's head. She sat down in the glider with her and decided to enjoy the one on one time since Lindsay was awake and in a better mood than earlier. She would be back at NCIS headquarters in two days and wanted to take in every moment with her daughter.


	12. Chapter 12

Two days later, the alarm went off at 0400. A hand came out from the pillow and clumsily attempted to turn off the source of the noise. Jethro tried to contain his amusement when the clock fell off the nightstand and landed on the floor. "Dammit," Jen muttered and leaned over the edge, picking up the clock and silencing the racket. "Are you awake?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at her significant other.

"Yeah," he replied gruffly.

She slid out of bed and into her robe, leaving the bedroom for the nursery. Lindsay was sleeping like a rock in the circular crib. Thankfully, she had slept a considerable portion of the night. Her mother rubbed her back softly before walking out of the room. Stanley would be at the house around 0615 to drive her to work. Noemi would be taking care of Lindsay since she and Jethro could not agree on a nanny. If he liked one, she found fault with his choice. If she liked a nanny, he found a reason not to like her choice. Returning to the bedroom, she noticed Jethro was out of bed. He started her shower and was now in the kitchen making coffee. She sighed, knowing she would need more than a cup of coffee to get her started this morning. Motivation in a large dose would be what she needed. She hated to admit she wasn't looking forward to leaving Lindsay. The two hadn't been separated.

In the kitchen, Jethro took his time making the coffee. He made it slightly stronger than normal. He knew Jen would have a hard time with the small step of letting go and accepting that she would have to leave Lindsay in someone else's care. He rubbed the back of his neck and watched the coffee make with a sigh. Minutes later, he was walking up the stairs with two mugs of coffee. He found Jen standing in the middle of her closet and not moving. He walked up behind her and put the mug in front of her. "Jen," he spoke softly.

She slowly turned her face towards him. "What?"

"Take the coffee," he instructed.

She nodded and took her coffee with a sigh. "Thank you."

"You need to get dressed. You can't go to work in your robe," he pointed out.

"I know, Jethro," she replied sarcastically with a roll of her green eyes. "I'd rather stay in my robe."

He heaved a sigh. It was coming. He took a drink of coffee and placed the mug on a shelf. "Jenny," he said her name, rubbing her neck and shoulders. "You have to go. You made a choice."

"But Jethro…" She turned around and looked at him. Her choice had changed. She had two jobs now, but one was more important. Furthermore, she didn't know how she could balance both.

"It's your job, director," he said firmly, attempting to instill that drive into her.

She opened her mouth to speak but closed it. He was right, but she wouldn't vocalize the fact. Instead, she merely gave a slight nod of her head and kissed him on the cheek. "Jethro," she spoke, looking him up and down. "You aren't the only one that needs to get a shower and get dressed. You cannot go to work in your boxers although Abby would have her question answered."

He smirked. "Thanks, Jen." He remembered dodging Abby's question, and he definitely did not want to know how Jen knew about Abby asking about his underwear preference. He left Jen to her own devices and savored his coffee before showering. When he stepped out of the shower, she was dressed and applying her make-up. He yawned as he flung the towel around his waist, and she smirked at the yawn.

"I don't see why we have to wake up at the same time," he thought aloud.

"Jethro, I swear to God if you start off complaining..."

"I know, Jen. I'll have dismembered body parts."

"As long as you know," she replied as she finished putting on mascara.

Jethro hid his smirk as he dried off and put on a clean pair of underwear. On his way out of the bathroom, he used the towel to pop her on the butt.

"JETHRO!" she shrieked, rubbing her rear end. She chased after him and jumped on his back, knocking him onto the bed.

He hadn't been expecting her to pounce on him or knock him flat on his stomach. He rolled over which surprised her. She landed on his chest but appeared to be pleased with her efforts.

"That hurt," she whispered.

"Want me to make it better?" he asked, placing his hand over her butt.

She glanced at the clock and shifted to get into a better position. She stopped moving when she heard a low groan come from him. "You have time, and I think you should make it better."

He obliged and leaned up, meeting her in a deep kiss. In one swift move, he was on top of her and beginning to unbutton her blouse.

"And you went to all that trouble of making sure I got dressed," she teased after breaking the kiss.

He smirked as he trailed kisses down her neck and collarbone. "You'll get dressed again."

She gasped when he bit at her collarbone, and her slender fingers found the waistband of his shorts. He continued his work, a combination of teasing and exploring. "Jethro," she moaned, sounding impatient.

He winced when she popped the elastic of the boxers against him. "Don't get bossy, Jen," he informed.

"I am your boss."

"Not right now," he answered.

She smirked at him before kissing him, tongues clashing. She groaned heavily as the crying came from the nursery. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and let out a deep breath. She nudged his shoulder, and he rolled off her body. He watched her leave the bedroom and dart across the hall.

In the nursery, she lifted Lindsay out of the crib. The infant quieted somewhat at being held, but she was hungry. "I know," Jen spoke softly against her fine hair and sat down in the glider. At least, Jethro had lessened one step in getting ready to feed Lindsay. She didn't have to unbutton her top. Unfortunately, Jethro knew the fun was over and dressed for the day. He made breakfast and didn't allow Noemi to take over when she came into the house.

Jen came down the stairs with Lindsay in her arms. She was wide awake and had no intention of going back to sleep, so she had been given a bath and changed. At the moment, she was cooing and using her mother's pinky as a toy. "Don't break it, sweetheart," Jen told her with a laugh. Lindsay cooed at her softly and watched her father as he put the plates on the counter. Jen walked over to him, kissing him on the cheek. "Say hi daddy."

He instantly smiled when his daughter gurgled at him. "C'mere." He took her from Jen and kissed on her. "Are you going to give Noemi hell today?"

Jen glanced over at Noemi who shook her head. "Senor Gibbs, she's an angel. She won't give me any trouble."

He ignored Noemi. "I think you should, Linds," he whispered and chuckled when she grunted. "You would take their side."

"Of course, she's smart." Jen took the plates and sat down at the bar.

"I'll take her," Noemi offered. Jethro passed the baby to her. Noemi took her into the den and put her down on a blanket, letting her play with the activity gym. It could hold her interest forever or long enough to let her parents finish breakfast. Her parents discussed work over breakfast. While Jen went into the study, Jethro loaded the breakfast plate mess into the dishwasher. He poured his third cup of coffee and went into the den to play with Lindsay. The not quite five week old infant was more than kept entertained by her father's silly faces.

At 0600, the Lincoln TownCar arrived at the home. Stanley rang the doorbell and greeted Noemi when she answered. He stepped inside and into the study. "Morning, Director Shepard."

"Morning Stanley," she greeted him with a smile and put her things into the briefcase. "How are you?"

"Glad to be driving you into work. It's been a while."

"It has," she said with a sigh but smiled when she heard Jethro's footsteps. He appeared in the doorway with Lindsay in his arms, and Stanley smiled at the two of them. Lindsay examined the new person and reached to grip her daddy's pinky finger, grunting softly because she missed.

"That's Stanley, Linds. Stanley, this is Lindsay," Gibbs made the introductions.

"She's beautiful," he commented.

"Thank you, Stanley." Jen walked towards them, giving the agent her briefcase. She took Lindsay from her father and kissed the top of her head while Gibbs and Stanley exchanged looks. Stanley nodded and left to put the things into the car.

Jethro put his hand on Jen's back and kissed the side of her head, lingering. "You can do it, Jen," he told her, reassuringly.

She nodded her head and adjusted Lindsay's pink bootie. "Mommy has to go back to work today. Noemi is going to take care of you," she explained to the infant and attempted not to cry. "I'll be home before you know it."

Lindsey stared at her mother's face, cooing or gurgling every so often as she talked. She stretched her tiny body out and nestled herself against her mother's chest. Jen swallowed hard and looked at Jethro. "I can't do this. I can't leave her."

"Jenny, she'll be fine. Won't she, Noemi?" He had the feeling he would need back up.

Noemi nodded her head quickly. "Yes, she'll be fine. I promise I'll take good care of her."

Jen stared at her loyal housekeeper and bit her lip hard. Noemi smiled at her and noted she hadn't ever seen her employer so torn before. She looked down at her daughter and walked over to Noemi. Lindsay received a soft kiss from her mother. "I love you, Lindsay," Jen whispered and felt the tears coming when her daughter gave her the smallest smile. She swallowed hard and handed her over to Noemi. "If…if you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

Noemi nodded her head and watched Jen walk into Jethro's arms. He enclosed her in the security of his arms and rubbed her back. "C'mon," he whispered against her hair before walking out of the house with her. She delicately wiped at her tears and cleared her throat as they walked to the car. She needed to step into the director's heels and step out of the comfortable mother flats. Stanley had the door opened for her and gave her a smile.

"It's good to have you back, ma'am," he said honestly.

She nodded her head and turned to face Jethro. Her fingers fiddled with the lapel of his jacket. "I'll see you at headquarters."

"Yeah, Jen. I'm leaving after you," he explained, kissing her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied, looking up into his blues eyes and kissing him on the lips. She climbed into the car and sighed heavily as Jethro closed the door.

Stanley looked at him. "I remember when my wife had to leave ours for the first time," he commented with sympathy.

Gibbs nodded his head. "It's not easy for them." He patted Stanley on the back. "Let me know if she wants you to drive her back home at any time today." No matter how much Jen wanted to return home and be with Lindsay she didn't need to do it. She had to get used to being back in the office.

"Got it," he said and got into the driver's seat. The car pulled away from the Georgetown home and started the trip to NCIS. Jen turned around in the backseat and watched Jethro get into the Dodge Charger. He followed behind them the whole way to headquarters. As the cars approached the gates, Jethro couldn't help smiling. He knew what was planned inside, but Jen had no idea. The couple went through security together and stepped inside the elevator. Jethro watched her lean against the wall in the corner of the elevator. She was wishing the day was over, and the day had yet to begin.

As the doors opened, Jen raised her eyebrows in confusion as she heard music coming from the squad room. "_God Save the Queen_?" she questioned, looking at Jethro.

He merely pushed her out of the elevator and made a mental note to find out later whose idea it was to play the British anthem. Jen stood a few feet in front of the elevator doors and stared at Jethro's team. Ziva, DiNozzo, McGee, Abby, Ducky, and Palmer were saluting her and singing along with the anthem. She tried to hold in her laughter but lost it when Ziva winked at her. The music stopped playing, and she composed herself, shaking her head. "Is this my welcome party?"

Abby nodded enthusiastically and hugged her boss tightly. Jen returned the hug and reminded Abby of the fact she did need to breathe. "Thank you, Abs," she said.

"No problem. There's more!" The Goth replied excitedly.

"More?" Jen asked, looking behind her at Jethro. He shrugged his shoulders.

"We have cake," DiNozzo informed.

"The cake can wait. There is work to do. Isn't there, Agent Gibbs?"

Jethro grinned and nodded his head, looking at his team. "You heard Director Shepard. Get to work!"

"On it, Boss!" DiNozzo chimed, attempting to not sound too disappointed about not eating cake. He walked to his desk and sat down, booting up his computer. McGee followed the lead while Ziva hugged her friend.

"I am glad you are back, Jenny," she told her, kissing her cheek.

Jen returned the Israeli's kiss on the cheek. "The queen is back in the kingdom," she joked. Ziva laughed and walked to her desk.

Ducky grinned at Jenny and gave her a soft hug. "Welcome home, my dear. Mr. Palmer and I shall return to autopsy. There's a puzzle to solve that reminds me of a time in…"

"Ducky," Jen warned, and he feigned hurt at not being permitted to continue his story. "Was _God Save the Queen_ your idea?"

"Yes, well…in a way. Abby decided earlier you are the queen, Jethro is the king, and Lindsay is the princess. She wanted to play music when you exited the elevator, and I made the suggestion," the medical examiner explained. "Piece of cake after lunch?"

"Yeah, Duck," Jethro answered. He walked to his desk and watched Jen make her way to the stairs. She ascended the stairs and made her way into her office. The group huddled around Gibbs' desk in the bull pen and waited patiently. Moments later, Jen came out the door and stood, overlooking the bullpen. She had the happiest smile on her face.

"Thank you!" She told the group, still smiling from ear to ear. On the door of her office, there was a large pink wreath decorated with flowers and small pink teddy bears along with a banner that informed anyone who didn't know that she had a girl. The previous day, Jethro had taken the liberty of adding a few touches to the inside of her office. There were two new framed photos on her desk. The first was a family shot taken two weeks ago when they went to a photographer to have the pictures done. In the black and white photo, Lindsay was cradled against her chest, and Jethro stood slightly behind her, placing a kiss to her cheek. The second was her favorite picture of Lindsay from the session. The infant was sound asleep in the middle of a white fur rug. Jen locked eyes with Jethro and signed that she loved him. He signed back and smiled at her. Abby saw the use of sign language and thought it was one of the sweetest moments she had seen between Gibbs and Director Shepard. Jen returned to her office and sat down at her desk, realizing how lucky she was to have wonderful people working for her and the family she had always wanted. A year ago if anyone had told her she would become pregnant and have a beautiful daughter with Jethro, she would not have believed them and told the person they needed to be committed to an asylum. It was true; it wasn't a dream. She knew where she had stood. Now, she was looking forward to seeing where she would stand in the years to come.


End file.
